Damsel In Distress
by realtrashwriting
Summary: Soul Evans is a knight with a mission: to save the princess and rid himself of his obligation to the crown. All he needs is his freedom back. But there's more to this damsel than meets the eye, and Soul begins to find that perhaps what he wants and what he needs are not as similar as he thought. Medieval-ish AU
1. Chapter 1

**Damsel In Distress**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Not As It Seems**

Her plea rang through the courtyard ominously, sweeping sound out of her tower and away through the grounds. The dying trees groaned as the wind pressured their creaky boughs in earnest. The currents also aided the raw scent of dragon and allowed it to grow and swirl against the blood stained earth, rattling the bones of failed trials all around him. The last light of day bounced off the multitude of armour and swords all around the yard. Its beauty was tarnished by the fact that it looked more like an armory had exploded in front of the ruins. The stone walls had gaping holes in them, some old, and some new from when Soul Evans had lured the beast forth, its massive body sluggish and lumbering; not at all the graceful beast he had read about in legends.

Soul removed his sword from the dragon's hide, wiping away the inky blood as best he could, before sheathing it. He had succeeded where hundreds of others had failed, but the feeling was short lived. The man stumbled away from the carcass in a daze at what he had actually done. As he heard her cry again, he was reminded that the mission was not yet over, not until he had returned with the princess. The voice echoed through the blood soaked battlefield, the wreckage the best had caused

He ignored his fallen shield, his left arm was too wounded to carry it anyway, and proceeded to limp out of the courtyard with alert red eyes on the shadows.

She was rumoured to have been locked in the highest room of the tallest tower, and he loathed the idea of having to walk such a multitude of stairs for just a simple woman, princess or no. As Soul ascended, he had to keep in mind what the King had promised him; glory, gold freedom from his contract. All these were enough to propel him higher up the tower. The moonlight slipped through the occasional window, guiding him up the stones till he reached the wooden door that separated him from the princess. This was the moment of truth. He could hear her cries for help, so frightened and desperate, and used the last of his strength to knock down the door only to fall to the chamber's floor easily.

A hiss of pain escaped his lips and he struggled to his feet. "Please excuse me, Princess, I-"

The sounds had stopped the instant he had opened the door. The chamber was relatively empty, and had only a tapestry and a bed situated by the window. Long, gossamer curtains shrouded the princess' body, but he could see her outline laying down, the picturesque silence of the tower was unsettling. Perhaps he had frightened her…

With each new step, he grew more anxious. He was certainly not what she'd expect with his bloody eyes, sharp smile, and moonlight hair, he resembled a painted demon more than a knight . He replaced his helmet upon his head before raising a quivering hand to draw back the curtains. He did so and revealed the body of a young maiden.

Or what was left of her.

He flinched away from the bones and fell back, shocked at what lay on the bed. It was not only a skeleton but the beams of light caught the glittering coins within. There was gold _everywhere_. It filled her rib cage and skull, coated her bony legs to make it seem like there was still flesh attached to the pale sticks. What was _happening_? Soul returned to her bedside and cautiously pick up a coin, looking at its insignia. It was that of his kingdom, certainly, with the reigning King's countenance pressed onto the side. His orbs inspected the remains once more, amazed and disappointed all at once. He had come for a princess but her skeleton would be the only thing he'd be bringing back to her parents. It seemed like a monstrous thing to do simply by looking at it.

As he returned the coin to its home in her eye sockets, he noticed a piece of paper just beneath the pillow. He pulled it out and examined its contents, growing more and more surprised as he read on.

 _Dear Knight,_

 _Congratulations on managing to slay the dragon guarding the princess. Unfortunately, a fever took the princess' life in the absence of a rescue. We offer you 10,000 gold coins in exchange for your silence of her death. This gold should be enough for you to start a new life outside of your kingdom therefore you need not return. There is a bag near our late princess' head. It is large enough (and imbued with magic) to carry all of the coins._

 _We thank you for your service._

 _-the Knights of Gorgon_

"Dead?" The word was unsettling even if Soul knew it to be true. And indeed the whole ordeal seemed a bit too surreal. Enough gold to change his name and start anew elsewhere? He'd never have to deal with his flippant royal highness ever again. He would forsake the notion of glory if he could have gold and freedom. It seemed a good a deal as any. Only…

He recalled the King's request grimly; the man's desperation to be reunited with the child that was stolen from him. Every man he had sent to this decrepit place was killed and his desire for his daughter increased. Soul felt the early twinges of guilt, but tried to beat it down with fact. The King was selfish and too easily swayed by his advisers. He could always send another knight once it became apparent that Soul himself would not be returning. He had already slayed the dragon after all. The next knight could bring the princess' bones back home.

But the King had begged Soul for his aid, promising him anything he desired if he returned with the princess.

The knight sighed heavily. This was ridiculous. Perhaps he'd rest here for a night and decide in the morning so his guilt and desire could resolve itself in dreams. That idea certainly sounded like the best one. Exhausted, he shuffled over to the woven tapestry which was, oddly enough, dust-less. Regardless, it would have to do as a blanket, he reasoned, for he had no intentions of sleeping with what remained of the princess.

Wrapping his good hand around the side, he pulled sharply, however the tapestry remained firmly latched onto the wall. Exhaustion gave way to curiousity and he tried again with no significant results.

How odd that some commonplace tapestry would refuse to fall over Soul's strength. The dragon had not taken all of his power. Surely there was some in reserve. The knight hazarded a look behind the thing to check if it was caught on the rough stones, but found instead that there was a sizable hole perfectly hidden by the tapestry's length. "How-" he choked, for the only possible thing on the other side of the tower's wall was the air and sky. The princess would not exactly be trapped in the tallest room of the tallest tower if there was an exit conveniently placed behind the artwork.

 _Perhaps a painting_? Soul reasoned, but reason was steadily failing him as he stuck a hand out and found that it sunk through the wall and into this tunnel of sorts. It was impossible...and yet not because it was truly happening. Was it witchcraft? The knight took a shallow breath, pulled back the tapestry and stepped within.

Instantly, the air had shifted. No longer was he facing the warm, evening air of the tower but instead the dimly lit dankness of the cellar tunnel. It reminded him very much of the castle's underground workings, something he was too familiar with. But the flickering fire light burned a dull gold as if to remind him of the coins he'd momentarily abandoned.

The armour jangled as he moved, forbidding any stealth on his part at all. He half wished to strip himself of all the clanging metals but reminded himself that the main purpose was strength and protection instead. The dankness of the cave slithered through the slits of his armour, past chain mail and tunic so that it settled in a rather unwelcome state on his skin. It filled his nostrils with similar weight. Soul withheld speech, using his keen ears to catch any sound possible, but his armour's clanking deafened him to whatever lay within the tunnel.

Soul had been fancying himself quite lost in what had revealed itself to be a labyrinth until, after turning a particular corner, he heard the barest sliver of laughter drifting through the hall. The stairs had long since ceased their descent, the series of tunnels drawing the young knight deeper, and deeper still he went, the sounds of mirth wetting his curiousity The sounds grew louder as he progressed and Soul was suddenly struck by a peculiar notion. He had heard the princess calling for help when he fought the dragon. Her voice had been quite desperate and pleading. But the instant he opened the door to her bedchamber, the sounds had vanished as if they never were. Had she lured him to the tower just to escape through the strange tunnel behind the tapestry? Perhaps he was going mad or was stuck in some dream. He rather hoped it was a dream, for with the princess dead, there was no chance of an equally happy outcome on both the King's and Soul's part. The knight took another step towards the sounds, the gleeful thrill nearly infectious as he approached.

"That's ridiculous and you know it," a woman laughed.

"But it's true. He took one look, wet himself, and took off. I've never seen more embarrassing cowardice," another woman put in, making the others laugh loudly.

"But it's not even that hard," laughed a new voice.

Soul hazarded a few more steps, cursing his noisy metal and hoping to glimpse the strange women within. He was quite near to them when he was forced to freeze, a voice slipping past the armour and into his ears. "What do you think you're doing?"

Immediately his hand went to his weapon, but a sharp blade was instantly pressed to his throat's light flesh, a palm striking his away from the unsheathed sword. "Let's not be too hasty. Who are you and how did you find this place?"

The knight contemplated fighting back but did not think it wise. The foe was clearly superior in speed considering that any sudden movement could end with his throat slit, he decided that compliance would be more easily associated with his survival. "I am a knight," he said finally. "I found my way here using an odd staircase of sorts in the highest room of the tallest tower."

The blade eased away from his Adam's apple which now bobbed slightly to his relief. "You are a _knight_?"

"I am. Of Elderheim. And you are whom?"

"I am a guardian and a victim of this place. But I do not understand. The tower has but one staircase. How could you have arrived at _this_ place?"

"There is a second set behind the tapestry as impossible as it may seem. Perhaps I could show you it if you could but lower your blade."

"That will not be necessary," the stranger vowed, pulling away from him as fluidly as they had arrived. He turned to face them only to be struck by their soft appearance. This girl, this woman, wore a thin gown that rivaled that of the healthiest leaves, her eyes mimicking the shade dully. Her ashen hair was braided down her back and he could see wisps of it peek out by her waist as she tilted her head to look at him. The blade in her hand returned to a sheath which hung from a dark brown belt about her hips. It sat there loosely as if it would fall from her figure at any moment but simply chose not to. The woman eyed Soul cautiously, studying him just as he had studied her. "You are of Elderheim, yes?" He nodded mutely. "Then you must also know that your fair lady has passed from this world."

"Yes, I do know this. However, this place-"

"Is none of your concern," she finished. "Take your gold and leave this place. Forever. You should not be here. It should not be possible."

"But I heard-"

"You heard _nothing_. I know your type." The woman leered. "Knights are not as self-less as they claim to be. If you are here seeking more treasure, then I suggest you return to the exit from which you came and leave with the coins you found."

"Maka!" The word echoed through the tunnels, bouncing off walls and resonating through his armour. "Maka, where are you?"

"I'm coming!" the woman called back before a scowl twisted her fair features as she focused on him again. "Go home, Sir Knight. You have no need to be here."

"But here I am. What are you hiding here?"

"It is none of your business."

"I wish to make it my business. _Where am I_?"

"No."

The woman tried to step past him but Soul blocked her way resolutely, the sudden movement making his head spin a bit. "Where am I, Maka?"

That seemed to bother her. "You have no right to speak my name," she hissed with violent anger, trying to push past him, "and knights have no right to be within these walls."

"Why not? Explain this place to me." The demand was almost a shout and the woman before him took an angry step back.

"Now you've done it."

He whirled, expecting to face a foe but finding instead a group of women looking at him with a great deal of curiousity and, if he wasn't misreading them, excitement.

"Um, hello?"

There was a communal squeal from them and Soul found himself being pulled deeper into the labyrinth by these bubbly maidens. They all seemed so enthused at his arrival, each girl speaking to him at the same time in a flurry. He didn't fight the them and allowed himself to simply flow alongside them, trying with difficulty to carry on multiple conversations at once. Every once and a while, he would glance back at Maka and catch her calculated expression, like she was working out something very important within her mind.

Very soon, Soul found himself in a large, lavish room. It was brightly lit in comparison to the rest of the halls, with enchanting candles floating above a round table sitting in the middle of the room. Distinct looking chairs surrounded it, each one decorated in uniquely different ways. More than anything else it was colourful, and colour as bright as these could only be found in asking court. Each chair had varying degrees of comfort. Some were quite plain with only carved wood. Others had cushions, painted flowers adorning the dull brown beneath, and they were beautiful. The women flitted from his side to take their seats, and with each seated maiden, the candles grew brighter than ever. "What _is_ this place?" Soul breathed, the illuminated room appearing more cavernous and brilliant than before. He could now glimpse a long intricate painting that covered nearly the entire room. The story it was trying to tell was difficult but no less important, no doubt, to the women gathered.

"You are in our meeting room," a fair haired woman pointed out. "You must have come a long way. Sit."

The knight found himself seated in the blink of an eye the instant her echo had faded from his ears. "Wha- How did this happen?"

"It's magic," a dark haired maiden exclaimed, looking at her peers eagerly. "Can we keep him?"

"No." Red flicked over to meet the soft green of Maka's eyes. "A man has not been here in years. He must go."

"But he can't!" The girl exclaimed, turning to him suddenly. "You won't leave, will you? You're a knight. We can tell it clear as day. You have a mission from the king, don't you?"

"Yes. By the king of Elderheim."

"Elderheim?" The girl frowned, turning to the raven haired mistress beside her. "Jackie, isn't that where you lived?"

"Yes, it was." It did not take him long to study her and recognize the maiden as King Dupre's lost daughter. Her house's crest had been carved into her chair, a matching one adorning his armour. She looked a great deal like her mother with the same flowing locks down to her flashing eyes alight with nervous hope that was very much not dead.

" _You're_ Princess Jacqueline?" She looked to be the princess, certainly, but he could sense the strangeness of this palace. It was unnatural, and though he could not quite place it, there was something very familiar about the place.

"I am. You are here to return me to my Father?"

"I am, your highness."

"Oh, I am not that," she said hurriedly. "We carry no titles, save Lady and our given names. Royal blood means nothing here."

"And here would be?" he posed as a lightheaded feeling began creeping up on him.

Lady Jacqueline gave a hesitant look around the table. "Perhaps we will introduce ourselves first and then describe our home. As you know, I am Lady Jacqueline of Elderheim. And you?"

"The knight Soul of Elderheim."

"This," she gestured to the spirited girl between them, "is Lady Tsugumi of Heartsdale." The girl waved. "We also have among us Ladies Kim, Tsubaki, Anya, Elizabeth, Patricia, and Meme. Some others are sleeping, you see."

"And the Lady Maka?" he offered carefully, watching his words pull the girl from her thoughts sharply.

"What about her?" asked Jacqueline.

"You did not mention her."

"I do not like being mentioned," Maka snapped back.

"Indeed, she does not," agreed Jacqueline, "and now, Soul, you wish to learn of this place?"

"I do."

"Then you must play close attention, for it is a story we do not like to repeat. Many years ago, five kingdoms united under one flag in an attempt to rid magic from the land. They did not realize the nature of the sorcery nor did they acknowledge the altruistic uses for centuries. They took to killing women whom they believed to possess magical capabilities. They believed that magic ran through the maternal line, and that by ridding the country of magic women, it would kill the sources of magic itself. True sorcerers were of both gender and they were outraged at their persecution. In an attempt to cease the fighting, a powerful sorceress declared that she would curse each king if they did not cease.

"They did not. And upon the royal army's arrival to the sorcerer's house, she placed a curse on them; that their daughters would be taken from them, never to be seen again. Unbelieving, the kings tried to put her to the torch but she escaped. They returned to their respective kingdoms; those with daughters found that they had vanished indeed. Their sons were untouched, but were no less affected than their fathers. The kingdoms did a great deal of smothering of the secret, and slowly, the royal family began to forget because while many daughters vanished, not all of them did. What they did not understand was that our prisons, the towers, matched the number of daughters alive at the time of the curses enactment. Upon a princess' death, the curse would take another child, the newest female in the royal line. This curse has existed for centuries. It is why there always seems to be a damsel in distress. Because there is never truly a shortage of damsels."

"But none of you are in your towers…" His arm felt a bit numb now and Soul kept it cradled to his chest. In fact, his legs were feeling particularly heavy.

"It is because the sorceress' child took pity on us," Lady Kim admitted. "Many princesses killed themselves in their desperation to end the solitude. Some forgot that not all princesses are locked in their towers. That is simply the best place to observe if help is on its way. Regardless, the sorceress' young child imparted some of their mother's magic to the princesses and any other inhabitant of the tower. With it, the earliest princesses created an underground labyrinth that linked multiple towers to each other with portals that could only be utilized by the princess herself."

"So that was what I walked through. A portal!"

"Indeed. Perhaps Jacqueline left her portal open," remarked Maka coldly.

"I must have forgotten to close it," the girl admitted, although she didn't seem so displeased with it. "Either way, it means I can go home!"

"A princess has not returned home alive in many years," Maka warned. "Is it safe?"

"It must be! It has strong knights like Soul protecting it. You even killed the dragon, didn't you?" He was suddenly under their attention again, the memories of pain and blood fresher than he would have liked in the presence of such nobility. He barely noticed Lady Maka rise, eyeing him cautiously as she moved around the table towards him.

"I did."

"But you did not take the gold."

"I did not."

"Then you _are_ noble!" She turned to the others at the table with a broad smile. "He is reflection of what my kingdom has become. Perhaps our curse can be broken."

"If he has come from Elderheim, perhaps a prince from my kingdom will arrive soon as well!" Lady Kim said wistfully.

"Are there others with you? Do they know of your quest?" asked another princess, eager for the answer.

"All in Elderheim know of Lady Jacqueline's disappearance."

"Then there is still hope!"

"That would be wonderful!" cheered Tsugumi and Soul found the dizziness settle over him quicker than before, his eyes catching the painted stone of the ceiling rapidly as he fell from the stool. Hair and head never connected with the floor and the roof was replaced by fair hair and a blurry visage.

"He's losing blood, Kim," she instructed. "Use the portals to take you to the infirmary. He will not die, but the battle has taken its toll on his body. If you are in dire need of aid, summon Free. The 'shifter will know what to do."

"Yes, Maka."

He entered the darkness feeling like he was floating on air, the only remaining sense being the pale fingers brushing his bangs away from his forehead with uncharted delicacy.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Exposition**

Soul awoke to the sound of humming. At least, he wished he could call it humming. It was a kind of off tune warbling that he couldn't quite find a way to appreciate. The knight tried not to cringe as he looked about the room for its source, his neck sore and protesting. His muscles ached and itched to be stretched. A deep breath filled his nostrils with the scent of fresh flowers, something he'd never expected in an underground labyrinth. His throat, parched and irritated, sent him into a coughing fit when he tried to speak, skewing his view of the room.

The humming stopped and one of the princesses were soon at his side. "Greetings, Knight Soul," she greeted, tipping a cup of water to his mouth.

"Thank you, Lady Kim." He took a deep breath in to settle himself. "Have you been here with me long?"

"A few days. It wasn't safe to leave your side and Jacqueline would have had my head if you died," she said and tucked some pink hair behind her ear.

"This place is an infirmary, is it not?"

"It is. Made many years ago, might I add, so the preserved herbs are not as fresh as they could be, but that's what gardens are for, I suppose. I'll have to go and replenish our stores later today."

 _Gardens? In a stone labyrinth?_ "If I can be of any assistance, Lady Kim, I-"

"Oh, think nothing of it." Kim pushed Soul back into the cot when he tried to sit up. "You're not well enough to be helping anyone, let alone me. You need to rest up and heal before you return Jackie to her father. Take your time though." Her mouth curved as a bitterness inched into her voice. "We wouldn't want you leaving before we could say goodbye."

"I feel like you will have a great deal of time to say goodbye, my lady. My body feels as though a pack of horses trampled on it."

"Fighting dragons will do that. It has been years since I've had to treat someone with wounds as bad as your own."

"Years? I don't mean to sound too abrupt, my lady, but how long have you been trapped in your tower?"

"Hmm, I'm relatively new, so I've been here almost thirty years."

"Thirty years?" choked Soul. "How is that recent?"

"Because Tsugumi and Jacqueline have only been in here for ten. Other princesses have been trapped longer than I."

"That is amazing."

"Would you like to try standing?" she offered.

"Certainly." The princesses helped him up and he realized the distinct lack of metal along his body. "Ah, my armour-"

"It was moved to another room." Kim gave him a keen look. "Your battle with the dragon was certainly fierce."

"He was difficult to defeat, but I managed." He paused as they got to their feet, testing his limbs. His legs hurt, but were functional. Kim had put a brace on his left arm, leaving the right free from any restraint. The gauze that she had wrapped around his wounded chest was tight and stung a bit, a side effect, she insisted, of the medicinal herbs she had smeared there to keep out infection. She had him test out his body parts to ensure their mobility, and he thought her a diligent doctor. Relatively diligent, at least.

"Soul, you are a knight, yes?"

"I am."

"You wouldn't happen to also be a prince, would you?"

Soul raised an eyebrow. "I fear not, my lady. My parents are but merchants, travelers who sell their wares to knights and noblemen of other kingdoms."

"So you are not rich?"

"I am not as rich as a prince," he said instead. "Why do you ask?"

Kim shrugged. "It would be nice to know who Jacqueline would be marrying is all."

"We're not getting married." Soul did not like the idea of marrying the princess. Or any princess for that matter. A quick rescue had been the goal. In and out and off he would be, free to travel the lands on his own. "May I ask you something?"

"Of course," she said, adjusting the sling's knot by the base of his neck.

"You wish to be rescued?"

"Of course I do."

"Before I met you all, Lady Maka insisted that you needed no help."

Kim's hands stopped fussing with the cloth. "She has lost hope and believes us better here, most days. I once heard that she was not always like that. Once, she was as optimistic as we are. The rest of us are quite eager to escape."

"Then why give knights gold upon slaying dragons? Why fake your deaths?"

"It is complicated," Kim admitted, moving Soul towards the door. "We will take a walk to discuss it, yes?"

"Indeed. You can show me where you all live."

"Yes." They opened it into the hall which seemed much brighter than he remembered. Perhaps his injuries had weakened his eyesight for now, well rested and bandaged, he saw things with more accuracy. Kim led him through the halls, pointing to different doors and denoting their use verbally to him. It was very detailed. The girls all slept in their towers but chose to spend time together under the labyrinth's torchlight by day.

"Lady Kim?"

"Yes?"

"What kingdom are you from?"

"Glysomer. It's one of the more prestigious kingdoms, as far as I'm concerned."

"Was that one of kingdoms in the curse? There are far more maidens trapped here than I thought."

"Indeed," she said, sobering quickly. "What you must understand is that the sorceress took out her anger on the daughters of all her enemies; she believed that if it did not alleviate their hatred for magic, then it would at the very least cause them to treat any future daughter with a great deal of love and respect, or so she claimed. Many people came to the sorceress for help, begging for aid or potions or remedies or curses. If the sorceress did not get her payment or felt slighted, she cursed the person or their children without any hesitation. None of the maidens here were here because they needed protecting. Locking children up in towers is rarely for their protection. They are all here because their parents did something foolish and there was a price they could not pay.

"Still, no curse is the same. Some maidens can break their own curses, either by solving riddles or journeying for ingredients to brew a potion that shall wipe their curses away. But those of us here are all cursed by that sorceress, that _witch_." Kim's voice grew sharp. "Those that are cursed to our towers must rely on the help of knights, knights that, in her time, were corrupt and dishonorable."

"And the gold?"

Lady Kim gave a very unlady-like snort. "You could not have expected that the sorceress would make our lives easy. We are decedents of the men that persecuted her, after all. The gold is merely a way to judge if the kingdoms deserve to have their princesses return. She wanted our kingdoms to suffer just as we did, and knew how torturous it would be to watch a knight come for a princess but leave with a satchel full of gold instead. Though we are considered knights of Gorgon, we are truly no such thing. Some of the girls have adopted that name to regain some semblance of control but there is nothing in us in her letters. Knights who manage to slay the dragon are offered two original fates: the first, that the kingdom imparts worthy compensation and rewards upon him; the second, to be abused by the king and killed so as to hide the truth."

"Kings would do such things?"

"She assumed that they would. To hide the truth of their disappearance and make it seem as though the princess had always been in the castle., they would do anything."

"Would not the princess know the truth as well?"

"As part of the labyrinth's spell, we forget all memories of this place upon exit. It is a cruel fate, but one that, at the same time, protects us. Regardless, knights are offered a third, guiltless option in which they may start a new life elsewhere with the money provided. Knights reflect the kingdom's status and your existence was proof enough to Jacqueline that her kingdom has returned to its good state. You even rejected the gold, which no man has done in a very long time."

"Will I forget as well?"

"I do not know." A frown worked its way onto her face. "We haven't had a knight here in a very long time; one hundred years according to Lady Elizabeth. Once the knight and the maiden left the labyrinth, her tower imploded and the magic she carried returned to the labyrinth."

"One hundred years… I was unaware that she had lived that long?"

"Her? No, but the meeting room's wall painting automatically recalls all great events, and that knight was definitely one of them. He, like you, rejected the satchel of gold and sought out the true princess, who, at the time, had not yet died. You are a painting as well."

"I am?"

"You are. Tsugumi came by to tell me this morning about the addition. It looks lovely."

"Can I see it?"

"Of course. You are a guest, the first man among women in two hundred years. It is an honour."

"You are honoured yet you are all nobility, princesses, future queens in your own right. It is I who is honoured by your presence."

"We are not queens yet," Kim reminded him, the pink of her cheeks revealing that his flattery had impressed her.

"Your parents worry about you," mused Soul. "I do not understand why you do not go back the instant an opportunity shows itself."

"It is our duty to ensure that our kingdoms follow a righteous path. The curse binds us here until that quality has been achieved, by our desire or otherwise." Kim sighed. "Truthfully, the whole story is exhausting to tell and even more exhausting to comprehend. You are in a whole other world here, Knight Soul. Feel free to learn of it at your own pace."

"I see." He paused as they began to climb a small set of stairs. "This must be far more exhausting for you, Lady Kim."

"Dreadful," the princess agreed. "I just hope that my parents haven't forgotten about me yet. It's been thirty years, after all."

When the pair arrived at the meeting room, they were accosted by a group of young maidens, fluttering about him as he stood in the doorway. He noticed the Lady Maka standing with Tsugumi at the painting that decorated the door. She smiled, the first kind look he has seen on her face since their unexpected meeting mere hours ago. He glanced up to where they stood, at the art before him to find his form bowing as if to swear allegiance. It was before Lady Jacqueline, her white dress pooling around her with a veil hiding her hair. If Soul didn't recognize the knightly allegiance position, he would have mistaken it for a proposal of marriage. He noticed that he was depicted without armour either, merely his pants and pale tunic accompanied by his weapon; close to how he was now with the exception that he was not armed.

Unprofessional, his parents would have call it.

"Would you like to eat now that you have seen it?" asked Kim, knowing just as he did that studying it would have to be done when there was considerably less people.

"Indeed."

"Ladies?" asked Kim aloud, "shall we eat in the dining hall with the knight?" A group affirming chorus of giggles could be heard from them. Tsugumi and Maka noticed and the smaller of the two gauging the blonde's reaction for permission to join them. Once granted, Kim opened up a portal and ushered them all into it. The image on the other side was that of a large room, rivaling that of a true castle sized hall. it was huge and although Soul was struck by it and he lingered so as to wait for Maka to step in before he did.

She did not.

Kim pulled him through regardless, his eyes still locked with fair green as the portal shut. The girls set to preparing the table and he stood, perplexed within the light scent of the dining room. "Is there a problem?"

"The Lady Maka," he began, "she has already eaten?"

"I do not know. The Lady is not fond of men, knights and the like."

"Why not?"

"Her business is her own. I respect her privacy and she respects mine." Kim shuffled away uncomfortably, leading him to a seat and leaving his side to help dole out food. "If you desire answers, you will have to speak to her yourself."

The entire meal was spent trying to figure out the cold princess. Why would she hate him? He had not gone through knight training without a fair share of enemies, of course, but being disliked for simply being male was something strange. It was unprecedented. He hoped that he'd be able to resolve it before his departure. Then again, their first meeting had included her knife at his throat, so maybe it would be better to avoid her entirely.

"Lady Kim?"

"Hmm?"

"How long will I remain here until I can leave for Elderheim?"

She paused mid-bite. "You are eager to return home?"

"Well, I am, but I should think that Lady Jacqueline is more eager."

"I am," agreed Jacquline from down the table, "but your injuries need to heal fully before we travel. It will not be an easy trip."

"I agree. My horse fled at the sight of the dragon. On foot, the travel will be-"

"We can call your horse back!" chirped Tsugumi, grinning over a cup of what looked to be ale.

"You can?"

"It is not impossible." She shrugged. "We can try it."

"Ah, alright." Soul swallowed. "So how long do you think?"

"A few weeks?" Kim frowned. "Your left arm is broken, and your legs are still weak." Soul nodded his understanding. "We'll try to do our best but we cannot heal you like a true sorcerer could."

"I thank you." The knight tried not to cringe as the maidens broke out into soft smiles and whispers. He attempted to down his soup as fast as possible. "Lady Kim?"

"Yes, Soul?" He sincerely hoped he wasn't bothering her too much with the questions. She seemed relatively annoyed by his curiousity.

"What time is it?"

"In which kingdom?"

"In Elderheim, I suppose."

She glanced at Jacqueline who surprised him by opening a small rimmed portal into her bedroom. "Dawn has just arrived," she reported. Soul could see some new sun swarm across the skeleton that lay along Jacqueline's bed.

"My ladies, may I ask another question?"

"If you must," allowed Jacqueline.

"Who are the Knights of Gorgon?"

"Why, we are," Tsugumi said with a smile. "The sorceress created that name to seduce knights into taking the gold instead of the princesses. But now that it's just us, we adopted the name. We exist now to help guard the labyrinth for the princesses of the future that may or may not be forced to come here."

"Couldn't you get rid of the gold and wait for the knights to appear?"

"The dragons kill foolish knights and weak men. No matter how many times we throw away the gold, it always returns to the tower. And even if a knight has miraculously slain the dragon, the curse forces us out of our towers or we are made invisible to any man who steps foot into the room so they may make their choice themselves." Princess Jacqueline sighed. "I would have been returned to my tower the next day had you not found my portal instead."

"I see."

Maka's words lingered in his head. She'd mentioned a guardian and a prisoner; cursed and duty bound to the place that held her hostage. The thought of her brought back questions he knew they could not answer.

"Lady Kim? May I return to the meeting room?" He tried to whisper it as quietly as possible. Kim seemed to catch on and relayed that she had opened the desired portal just outside the dining hall. With thanks, he excused himself and hobbled over to the door. Once out in the hall, Soul watched a portal bubble to life before him. He had been too preoccupied with Maka and Tsugumi to notice Kim's tear the first time. Now, seeing the golden purple ripple into a large circular portal, he was in awe. _This_ was true magic, kinds he had heard of in legends and folktales. Many sorcerers still existed, certainly, but they were difficult to get along with if there wasn't enough gold in your satchel. He stepped through it more confidently than before and appreciated the change of air as its strange freshness flooded through him.

A glance behind him told him that the tear had vanished and he surveyed the new room with a partial hope that Lady Maka was still present. A few hours had passed, certainly, but perhaps she had taken a similar interest in the paintings as he had. There was nobody else in the room, however. He was alone with only the company of dim, burning candles. Their light flickered weakly over wax and Soul cast another look at the painting in the hopes that he might truly understand it all.

The first segment, on closer inspection, depicted a scene that Jacqueline had described upon his arrival. The witch stood in the middle with menacing blonde hair, lightning crackling through the air as five tall towers were created from the ruins of old and forgotten kingdoms. He could barely see anything save knights situated at every tower, fighting and failing against the winged serpents that guarded them with limitless stress.

The next distinct scene was an image of a sleeping princess. She was by beautiful, with raven hair and skin as pale as his hair. The maiden was surrounded by flowers, like she had dozed off in a garden but upon closer inspection, he could see markings along her bare arms and a dark bruising ring around her neck.

The chill alone from the realization burned in his veins. "She's dead," he breathed and staggered back to fall into a chair. She must have been the first to end her life, for she was surely not the last. Knowing she was dead made Soul uneasy and he turned to the next few images with the same anxiousness. More dead princesses adorned the wall, not nearly as big an image as the first maiden but none the less chilling. How many had died? How many more would take their lives?

He thought of cheery Tsugumi, full of life and hope. The knight struggled to imagine her dead, pale and lifeless. He thought of Kim, bright and dreaming of an escape despite being duty-bound to her new role, or Jacqueline, so close to freedom but unable to leave due to his injuries.

 _A guardian and a prisoner_.

Maka came to mind, all ashen hair and green eyes and what felt like endless bitterness. Would she lose her life to the curse as well? Grimly, he wondered if she'd ever tried.

"Soul?" He looked up from his cot blearily. Lady Kim of Glysomer still lay snugly wrapped on her own cot, asleep and lost to the world. She did not seem affected by the disembodied voice and he sat up slowly, searching in the dim light for the source. Kim had left her candle burning, the wax pooling at the bottom with a weak light remaining. Another, brighter glow emanated to his left and when he turned to stare at it, he was surprised to see the fair visage of Lady Maka, a candle in her hand. Their eyes locked for a moment and her haunting beauty struck him, tightening his insides and stealing his words. Shadows swept over the planes of her face and her paleness was instead a weak golden hue. Her hair crinkled and folded in on itself, rippling over her shoulders without the cords of a traditional braid to hold it in place. The white of her nightgown, flowing and ethereal, reminded him of ghosts he had heard of in fairy tales.

"Ah, my apologies," she spluttered, drawing away and allowing the door to shut. The instant her face vanished, he scrambled to his feet, slipping on a pair of shoes Kim had prepared earlier. In a mad dash for the door, he neglected the blankets that had fallen in his haste and tried to slip out after her.

"Lady Maka," he hissed, instantly stumbling at the sight before him. He faced the large portal admirably, he thought, as it was larger than anything he'd ever seen. What it was a portal to, he was terribly unsure of. It showed a big window, a bed styled similar to that of Lady Jacqueline, however the sheer curtains were viciously torn and the bed sheets, a fair pink under the moonlight, had rips and tears in it as well with small white patches sewn in at odd intervals. The jagged shadows worked its way across the stone floor, a splintered bed frame leaving pronged wood splayed and dangerously open. The whole thing looked so strange the more he thought about it.

"Lady Maka!" he tried again and attempted to step into it only to find himself pushed back by an unseen force. "What the-" Before his eyes, the portal shrunk and disappeared from sight. He sat in the hall for a few more moments in awe of what had just occurred. The fair Lady had inquired after him and, upon realizing his consciousness, fled? Such a thing was odd…

Upon returning to his room of sorts (for the medical room was his only lodging place at the moment), he proceeded to ponder on her, blowing the candle out and lying in the dark until Kim was waking him up again, a fresh candle in her hand.

"Good morning," she said.

"What time is it?"

"It is hard to say. The sun has not been in the sky long and on a summer day such as this, it means that dawn has just recently come to pass."

"Do you have a plan for me today?"

"Today? Jackie wanted to explore her dragonless prison with you and plan your departure and though the other girls wished to join, I am afraid they cannot."

"Why is that?"

"The portals only respond to the ladies themselves. Within the labyrinths there is free reign, but to another tower? It would be too easy to escape. No other maidens can travel to Jacqueline's tower. It is impossible."

"But I can?"

"You came from her kingdom therefore you are allowed to travel to and from her tower at will. Perhaps after your talk with her, you will return here. The girls wish to have you tell stories in the courtyard."

Soul looked up sharply. "You have a courtyard?"

"We found it in the labyrinth many years ago. It is linked to a doorway here that transports one to the forgotten Gardens of Avena." The Garden of Avena was something Soul had heard about in fairy tales. It was said to be guarded by angels, tended to by fairy women that maintained the flora and kept it alive even when harsh winters threatened the life of the garden. Never had he thought that the rumours would be linked back to the maidens in the labyrinth, the Knights of Gorgon. Although, how that rumour had come about, even he did not know.

"Finally." Resolutely, Soul stretched, sat up, and pulled his shirt over his head. "I have missed the look of the sky."


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Tales In The Courtyard**

Jacqueline did her best to explain the courtyard's magical abilities in a way she thought he could understand best. They walked through the ruins of the palace she had been kept in, the tower being in the best condition, and discussed many different things. The princess introduced him to the abandoned rooms, stopping at the threshold of the front gates where she had initially been unable to cross. Now that Soul had slain the dragon and refused the gold, the pair could walk right passed. During their walk, Lady Jacqueline revealed what it had been like to be whisked away to a foreign tower by the curse. She mentioned how disconcerting it had been to wake up in a place that was not her own. She, unlike most of the others, had known about the disappearing princesses and her mother and father had warned her of it once she was old enough to understand. Though their warning did her little good, she had still understood the implication of her towering prison, and her sanity had survived the shift.

In comparison, when Soul and Jacqueline had reunited with Kim in the courtyard, Soul had managed to ask Kim about her arrival, which seemed so unlike Jacqueline's that he almost did not believe it was true.

"Some don't like to speak of it," she admitted, "for a part of them believe themselves happier here in the tower. Maidens, princess or otherwise, have not been treated altogether kindly by men. The world was not made for us but still, the few that can break their own curse chose not to in favour for staying here. For the daughters of the five kingdoms...we long to return home. Upon my arrival, I cried for hours. I had been snatched from my bed and had woken up in my new tower. I recall being quite upset. But Maka appeared soon after to console me and tell me the history of this place."

"Lady Maka?"

"Indeed. Thirty years ago, Maka came through her portal to soothe me. She explained what this place was, what the curse was. I didn't believe her at first, but when I realized that it wasn't going to do me much good sitting around, I followed her into the labyrinth."

Soul nodded his partial understanding, noting more so the fact that it had been Maka, of all the other maidens, that had come to see Kim the knight she was captured. It would mean that Maka herself had been in her tower for more than thirty years, a feat that seemed almost impossible when he looked at the youthful planes of her face. "I thought maidens could not travel to the towers of other maidens?"

"Maka is... an exception. The deal she made… it allows her to travel as she does."

 _Deal_? He'd have to add that to the list of things he wanted to ask her about. The mystery surrounding the beautiful princess seemed to grow by the day. "How long do you think she has been here?"

"I don't know. I've asked and she's never told me, but if I had to guess, I would say certainly far longer than I have."

"Why is that?"

"The chairs-" she started before noticing a gaggle of young princesses approaching. "Ah, I apologize. You will have to ask the Ladies Maka and Tsubaki for a more detailed explanation. The time to tell your stories has drawn near."

"So it has." Soul sat on one of the benches careful not to jostle the sling on his arm. It was hard to focus on when Soul's thoughts kept drifting to see the other girls and their youth. They did not age at all, it seemed, for the curse stalled the passage of time completely upon their addition to the tower. To "prolong their suffering", as Jacqueline had put it. Quite a few maidens had accumulated, and Soul was struck by their ages now that he was seeing them in the sunlit yard. There were no babies, but a small handful of children, aged eight or so, sat in the front row. Many behind them were youths in their sixteenth or seventeenth year. Fewer were past peak marriage age and sat at about twenty or more years of age. Still… "You're all so young," he commented reflexively as the girls arranged themselves before him.

"The curse targets women out of wedlock," explained Jacqueline, who sat nearby. "I was taken after my sixteenth birthday and at sixteen I have stayed." There were so many intricacies to the curse. Too many, in fact. It seemed like the sorceress had chosen her rules very carefully when she had enacted the curse. It made it sound almost impossible to get away from; like a plague. One sitting alone would not be enough to educate Soul on its power and effects.

"How old are you?" posed Tsugumi, her youthful face glowing with curiousity.

"Nineteen."

"Is that not too young to be a knight?"

He snorted. "Most young boys go into knighthood training aged eight or nine, working as squires or pages," he explained. "It is not uncommon to be exposed to the lifestyle at such a young age. In Elderheim, the tale of Lady Jacqueline's disappearance has survived as even I heard it as child. It spurned many boys to become knights in hopes that they might save and marry a princess."

"And you are the same?"

He looked at Maka squarely. "I am interested in my freedom and naught else." She seemed to inspect him critically as if believing him dishonest, so he held her stare in quiet rebellion until she coloured and glanced away.

"How about a story? Please?" came Kim's voice. "Any story will do."

He pondered on the request for a moment, looking around at their faces. Then, the knight opened his mouth to speak and wove a noble tale fit to engage the maidens around him. Even Maka, cold as she had been towards him, could be seen leaning in to listen to his story. Every word came from stories his brother used to tell him before they went to sleep. He told stories of sword fights, of princes in disguise, of nymphs and fey and goddesses that rained down only mercy. He spouted the tales like seasoned knights did around campfires to spook new recruits. The sun was nearly on top of them when Soul requested for a break. He grew tired of the attention, exhaustion under the scrutiny of both royalty and the sun creeping up on him. The girls reluctantly flittered away, amusing themselves with the flora except for Maka, who approached him. The grass beneath her feet brushed against her lovingly, as if thanking her for her careful steps.

"My Lady," he greeted, bowing his head a bit.

"Your stories," she began instantly, "are they... true?"

"Truer for those that lived them, perhaps, but they are honest enough if you believe in that sort of thing."

"They are amazing tales." His eyes jerked to meet hers, wide and amazed. Had that been a _compliment_? He had been so certain she had hated them; hated _him_.

"I thank you, my lady."

"Maka will suffice," she said, her dress pooling prettily against the grass as she sat down. Her green eyes stared up at him eagerly with an openness he had not seen in her before. "Have you always known such stories?"

"We learned of them in Elderheim when we were children. Some have happened to me, in fact, but I don't often advertise them."

"Why not? Your more adventurous tales would make for impressive introductions."

"I am not trying to introduce myself, Lady Maka. I merely wish to pass through this world as smoothly and unabated as I can."

"That is a hefty goal. Admirable, in a way, though unlikely for a knight of your standing. Tell me, why go after Jacqueline if you intend to live a life of flat waves?"

"It was the way I was raised." He was surprised at his honesty, especially to someone so much like a stranger to him. Yet it was, as if, he had known her all his life and felt strangely compelled to tell her all she wished. "My brother was a courtesan and a musician at the palace when he heard news of some knights disappearing to look for the princess in the East. Naturally, I was to follow suite so as to have my chance at, as the King puts it, 'anything I desire'."

"And your brother is whom?" Well, perhaps he would not tell her _everything_.

"He is none of your business." Soul cringed to himself internally. If he had refused a princess in court, he would be severely punished. He was lucky that the women seemed to disregard rank, even if he could never really forget about it. "What is important is that I desire my freedom. And when I obtain it, I will travel until I run out of money or find a decent place to live for the rest of my days."

"You seem so young to be thinking of such futures," she said thoughtfully. "Normally it is old, battle-worn men, old kings and merchants who wish to live the very end of their lives devoid of struggle."

"I am none of them. Simply a man who wishes his life to be a little simpler."

Maka nodded, head bowed in reflection. "Have you ever been told that your stories are wonderful?"

Soul stared up at the sky. It was a real sky, according to Kim. The courtyard existed in a real abandoned kingdom somewhere, tended to by the maidens of the curse. "Does it matter?"

"It does to me. You weave them with such expertise, as if you have done it your whole life."

"I...appreciate your saying so."

"Do you have any other expertise perhaps? To be a knight and a tale teller seem oddly compatible, though the tales you tell are not of war and battle but of other, more beautiful things. Are there any other talents you have? Your brother was a musician. Are you gifted in that as well?"

"You are suddenly so interested in my life," he pointed out, crudely avoiding the question. "Why?"

Her shoulders rose and fell, pulling away from him and allowing her hands to fall into her lap. "For you to know such stories, to relate them to us all with such detail and feeling... it must mean _something_. Don't you agree?"

"They are just stories. Common tales."

She tilted her head away from him, body shifting as she said, "Is that all they are to you?"

"That is all they are to anyone. Tales are meant to satisfy and intrigue until they are done and nothing more. Perhaps a lesson is taught if it is constructed so, but nothing else can be garnered from it. They are pointless unless they are true. All the strange fairy tales and old lore that people pass around aren't needed."

She was quiet a moment before asking, "And that is what you truly think?"

Soul shrugged, his honesty becoming him. "They are for children and times of desperation. Reality is nothing like our stories. Reality is all something we must face. Living in a dream world where things are flowery and stagnant will change nothing."

"For people like us," Maka began, her voice shaking, "stories are all we have to entertain ourselves. Stories and each other. We must respect them and respect the tellers. They hold so much meaning, so much _promise_. It's unfortunate that you don't see it quite the same way. They are an honourable escape from realities we know too well of." Frost coated her fresh green eyes as she made to stand, and Soul instinctively did as well. "Indeed, it is a pity you do not seem to value these precious things."

He frowned. "I don't know what it was that I said, but I did not mean to offend you, my lady. I just-"

"I am no lady of yours." She squared her shoulders. "I shall take my leave."

She moved to go again and his fingers found themselves around her wrist in an instant. "Wait! Please, I didn't mean to."

"You have stories to tell, _knight_ ," she hissed, tugging him down so her lips suddenly close to his ear. An echo of their first encounter flashed in his mind. "I know that you dislike them, but I'm sure you won't begrudge spitting out a few more stories for these girls."

Then she was gone like the wind. He couldn't even stop her as she curtly excused herself from the group, claiming to be tired from the sun exposure before creating a large portal and stepping into it. Watching her go, Soul realized that the image to which she had taken herself to was the same image as the night before. _So she had come to see me last night_ , he realized as the princesses took their seats once more. _But w_ _hy?_

The question haunted him the rest of the session until he was swept up in his own stories, dismally missing Maka's eager eyes.

* * *

From that point on, Soul had the distinct feeling that the green eyed princess had taken to avoiding him. When they ate, if in the same room, she made sure that they were separated by maidens who seemed much more intrigued by him than she. Although she wasn't frigid, she was certainly more curt than the others, and made it a point of not actively seeking him out unless it was for a specific purpose, something which had only happened twice in the last seven days. Each time, he'd attempted to speak with her on the matter of his stories and each time the inquiry was curtly deflected. It was frustrating to try to track down someone like Maka in a labyrinth, especially when most of the girls seemed to be sworn to secrecy concerning her whereabouts.

Most information on Maka seemed to have the girls tongue-tied as well. He tried to learn more about her through their them, but they had no knowledge of it at all. All he knew was that she had been in the tower for a while, had a huge grudge against men (presumably because she had yet to be saved), and seemed to enjoy books and other scripture. As a knight, literacy had been important, if only to read the decrees of the king and write letters and other battle reports. He knew that as a young child, Lady Jacqueline had been taught to read and write as well, however few women, let alone princesses, chose to access historical records on their lands.

It was infuriating. He hadn't spoken properly with her since their spat in the courtyard and he was desperate to reconcile. There was something compelling about the beauty that he was undeniably attracted to. It might as well have just been the mystery, he decided miserably on his trek towards the meeting room. She was so different. Each of the girls had their quirks, yes, but Maka...there was something distinct about the way she carried herself and the simple way that she _looked_ at him (although it was more of a glare these days) increased his curiousity towards her. Something about her lithe figure, firey spirit and green eyes, the dip of her collarbone and the delicate curve of her spine had him spellbound. He could normally ignore such urges, but it was hard when Maka seemed so undecided about any possible connection between them. She was detached and then worrying; unresponsive then excited.

It was confusing.

It was curious.

It made him eager to speak with her again.

"Soul! I know I'm a little late, but are you coming to the meeting?" came Tsubaki's voice, echoing through the hall as she ran over to him.

"Yeah. Lady Jacqueline told me it was important to come, but I sort of slept in. Do you know what it's about?"

"It's planning for her departure," said Tsubaki. "They just want to determine whatever assets she has, what she's going to bring home to her, and stuff like that. We have to check our supplies so that we can see how much we can send you both for the journey home."

"Home?"

"Of course! Once you recover, you'll be taking Jacqueline back to her kingdom and getting back your, ah…" she paused in thought before carefully saying, "freedom."

"Right." His nails dug into the exposed flesh above his bound wound. "And who set up this meeting? Could it not have been postponed to when I was closer to recovery? Closer to our possible departure?"

"I suppose, yes," she admitted slowly, "but Maka wanted-"

He gave his head a sharp shake. "Of course _she_ did. She wants me gone as soon as possible. Let's go to it, my lady. I think I'd like to speak to Lady Maka about this after."

"You would?" Their steps echoed through the hall, shadows slipping to and fro behind them as they passed each torch.

"She _has_ been avoiding me, Princess Tsubaki. Does she expect me to just sit around and not confront her on it until the day I leave?"

"Unfortunately, I do think that's a possibility. I'm sorry, Soul."

"Don't be, Princess, it's not your fault. I don't know why she's being so stubborn."

"She isn't fond of men," Tsubaki attempted, but Soul shook his head.

"I don't believe that's it." The knight touched the sling of his arm carefully. "There's something more to it. I just can't put my finger on it. I'm sure you know, my lady, but Maka has no doubt forbidden you to tell me."

Tsubaki fidgeted. "How do you know that?"

He smirked weakly. "Intuition?" he offered coupled with a tired exhale. "I just want to find out why she hates me so much. I want to get to know her; really know her. I've gotten a chance with everybody _except_ her, when she's the one I'm interested in learning about."

"You are in love with her?" squeaked Tsubaki, a delicate hand rising to her mouth.

"No!" His feet froze beneath him and he turned to her so rapidly that he agitated the injury. "Never! I don't- I'm not in love with her." His blood fought on whether to flood his face or his injury, and settled on both. "I just want a chance to know her. She seems the most familiar about the witch that cursed you all and I wish to know more about it. I would like to learn about it from someone who seems like an expert."

"You're not so far off," commented the raven haired princess with a sigh. "Maka knows a great deal about our curses, about our imprisonment. More than any of us really do." Tsubaki's hands twisted together. "You _could_ try talking to her about it again. Her anger... I don't believe that it targets you as you might think. Still, maybe you can help her believe that there's more to life than this labyrinth and give her the hope she needs."

Soul had never been happy with the idea of 'accepting' one's imprisonment. Maka's seemingly resigned decision to stay and protect the other maidens frustrated him. He much preferred fighting predestined conceptions and facts; like how his parents had expected him to amount to absolutely nothing. They had only ever had high hopes for his brother, the only child they believed that had a vision and a promising future. Yet here he was, Soul Evans, a fighter and their youngest child, surrounded by wealthy princesses and other young, beautiful women.

And if Maka had it her way, they would never know how far he'd exceeded their expectations.

By the time they had walked into the meeting room, the women were gathered in front of a long roll of parchment, a inked quill hovering near the top of it. "You'll need this much if Elderheim is as far as you say it is," Maka was saying, raising a hand to brush a stray lock from her face only to dye it black from her hand.

"But Soul's horse as long since died. We'll be walking the rest of the way. Who's to say that we'll even make it back alive?"

"Meme's been caring for some of the stray horses that have survived their knight's dragon fire assault. There should be two healthy stallions available and you'll need this much food for the four of you." Maka leaned down and crossed down something off the list, the dip of her collarbone attracting his eyes. "Maybe a bit more just in case he indulges."

"I don't indulge myself _that_ often." His voice startled her and her anxious hand flicked out, knocking over the inkwell. "May I speak to you, princess?"

"You cannot because I am busy with this meeting." She was in a flurry to mop up all the liquid. He watched some of the girl's offer spare handkerchiefs to her, but she merely waved them off, leaning down and tearing the underlining of her gown off. "A meeting with which you are _late_ for, Tsubaki."

"I told Soul to come to the meeting, and actually, Maka, we're done all the planning," pointed out Jacqueline which earned her an angry glare. "We can fill Tsubaki and Soul in. I'm sure she will agree with whatever provisions we have planned for the trip."

"That's good, Lady Jacqueline, thank you." Only Lady Jacqueline seemed to understand his insistence of speaking with Maka. He had talked to her about it before, and had received her sympathy. He was unsure as to whether that was due to him actually speaking to her or because it meant that she got to spend a great deal of time with Lady Kim.

His lips curved up as Maka wiped some flecks of ink that had landed on the green face of her dress with a huff. "Then we can talk."

Her exhale was equally as annoyed and twice as rushed. Her footsteps slapped against the stone floors and, as Maka came to a halt before him and Tsubaki, she pointed a finger at the space behind. He glanced back to see a wide portal to the courtyard open to them, one that she walked right into. Her silence stung a bit but he'd grown used to it in the last week and, with only his determination to break it, he followed in after her. Tsubaki patted his shoulder as he passed, giving him the best 'good luck' smile she could muster before he was past the portal's threshold, which flared and disappeared into a blink.

Maka walked through the courtyard's brilliantly green trees that rose at twice his height albeit being half his width. She continued walking until at last she grew fed up and swiveled to him. "So what is it you want with me, knight?"

"The same thing I have wanted these last seven days, Lady Maka. A chance to speak to you."

"You had a chance."

"Well I think that I deserve another."

"You deserve-"

"Some respect," he said with a frown. "You have treated me like some evil thief under your roof save our one talk in this very courtyard, and even after that you treated me like a demon. You are ridiculously eager to be rid of me with no decent meaning or motive."

"I have not-"

"You have. I understand that you don't like me. I don't know why what I said offended you, but I wish you would at the very least talk to me about it instead of avoiding me at every turn."

"Look, I'm just as busy as you are. I have to make sure we have enough food to give to Jacqueline for the journey. You also need enough coin to make it back to the kingdom safely. We will not tolerate you giving Jacqueline her escape and failing to deliver her to her father. Not to mention that I've been doing everything I can to get Kim the herbs she needs to ease your pain; to heal your injuries." He gaped a bit at this new information. Her personal business, her dogged attempts to avoid him, was an attempt to help him get the medicine he needed to heal? If it was the truth, then he regretted some of his less than positive feelings. Still, it could not excuse her for everything.

"If that is true," he said slowly, "then thank you. I owe you my life."

She shook her head. "You owe me nothing. Kim, however, you do owe. She has done her best to heal you and has been mixing potions for your pain every morning before you would wake. Why do you think that this injury hasn't ached like all the others you've no doubt acquired in your life?"

"Indeed, I do owe her," he said quickly, "but it is still with you that I wish to speak to."

Maka sighed, her resistance growing, thankfully, weaker the more he persisted. "About Jacqueline?"

"About your curse. It is cruel and unusual and all I want is a chance to speak to you honestly about what has happened to you and the other girls so that, should the opportunity present itself, I may notify others of your survival with the intention of having you rescued. I am not a child that needs things hidden from him for fear that he does not understand. I ask that you treat me with as much respect as I wish to treat you with. I only wish not to fight with you." She looked away. "I did not think it was possible for you to hate me after knowing so little about me."

"I know enough."

"But you don't. We have never spoken, save once, on the matter of my history despite you evading all questions about yours. It is not the least bit fair. You act like you know me but you don't. All I ask is that you give me a chance to befriend you; if not for the sake of friendship, then at least to avoid the extra energy put into avoiding me. If you do not want to speak of your past then that is fine as well. I can respect your wishes as long as you respect mine."

She contemplated the offer in frosty silence, ever skeptical of what he had to offer. _Be patient_ , he told himself. If he was ever going to be friends with her, let alone seem tolerable to her, then he would have to be a great deal more patient with her than he was with normal people. To solve the mystery that was the princess would be a mission he would gladly undertake.

A frown and some frantic pacing later, she was in front of him. Her thoughts seemed to have led her to a blush-worthy cause that ended in her right hand stuck out for him to shake. "Here."

"Is this a truce?" he asked, all hesitation and muffled amusement at what appeared to be her embarrassment.

She squared her shoulders and put more emphasis on her hand, staring at his empty ones intensely. "A truce implies that there has been uneven ground on both sides, but I realize that this isn't quite fair...to you. I'm sorry." His jaw dropped a bit at the admission. This woman, this proud, no-nonsense woman, was admitting that he had done no wrong? It had to be some mistake, some rift in time that had changed his fate so dramatically. If there was magic, there must have been a spell that had caused transformed this fair lady into the humble creature she was now. Not, he reminded himself and the universe, that he was ungrateful for this gift. Soul treasured this new side of Maka and promised to respect it until his dying day. A hand touching hers lessened the tension in her shoulders and, as she hazarded a glance, he smiled softly so as not to scare her.

"It will be enough for me," said Soul, giving her a firm shake and trying not to enjoy the touch of her skin, trying not to over analyze her calloused fingertips and nail buds like his knight training had taught him. Instead he enjoyed it while it lasted, let her go, and sat down on his storytelling rock (it was what all the princesses were calling it now). If he expected the woman to reveal all her secrets after the agreement had been struck, then he was quickly disillusioned when Maka drew up her portal and, after curtly excusing herself, jumped in to leave him behind.

Still, it was a start; a start of their friendship, a start to their tale. It was all just beginning.

* * *

 **And that is that. I wasn't totally sure where I was going with this. Still, all questions will have answers in due time. I promise you this.**

 **Thanks for reading and I'll see you in the next chapter! If you have an questions, comments or concerns, feel free to leave them in the box below or PM me.**

 **Also, side note, I don't how many of you guys watch Miraculous Ladybug, but let me just say that it is amazing and my soul is pretty much dying from withdrawal because the season is over. Am I alone?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Sympathy**

"Do you all wear the same gowns everyday?"

"Well, we wash them, Soul. We may be princesses but we're not so pampered that we don't know how to do our own laundry."

"I realize that." Soul twisted an apple and handed it to Maka, who wiped it down with a pale, wet cloth and put it in her basket. It had been a few days since their truce and Soul was surprised at how seamlessly Maka had integrated him into her life. True to her word, she spoke with him with civility, then kindness and now Soul could safely say that they had a friendship. A strange, young one, but a friendship all the same. "But I also realize that you're all strangely well-provided for." Her clothes, their fresh water spring, and the pristine state of the courtyard hinted to more than the natural course of life. Even without the addition of witch magic, there was an aspect of their existence that was impossible if there hadn't been some other force involved.

"Well, what good is it to torture the daughters of your enemies and have them die a week after due to starvation?" He turned his head away from her morbid smirk; an uncharacteristic look on her if ever there was one. "Granted, the first few did suffer, but we're in a much better state than them. We've adapted and are able to survive for as long as we need to. We've learned how to use the resources and magic given to us."

"Able to build lives with the magic but never escape from your curse."

"It is an unfortunate life but we are resigned to it. We must be."

He ceased working to fix her with a strange look. "You're quite forward with this."

"I have to be. I'm not the princess I was when I was captured."

Soul worked on a branch in silence, waiting for her to elaborate but she did not. He would not push her for answers when it was clear she did not wish to give them. He refused to beg for something that he himself was hesitant to confess himself. "Do you all take turns with your laundry?" he asked gently. "Without servants, I imagine that many of you were unfamiliar with the chore."

"That much is true," she conceded, "but we all learned from one another. Even Chrona, when the sorceress was still alive, aided us early on before their death."

"Chrona was the sorceress' child, correct? They must have been extremely powerful."

"Very. The power bestowed upon us when they died was influential. Like we said before, it helped us build the labyrinth."

"And create the portals," he added.

"And create the portals, yes. Very detailed and very effective."

"Could you show me?"

Maka eyed him curiously. "Now?"

"If you're that against it, you don't have to."

"It's not that. You've seen us create them before, haven't you?"

"I haven't really been able to watch their creation. And you always seemed to be in such a hurry to be rid of me that I could never understand the process." He figured that the request was innocent enough and watched her sigh, move away from him, placing the basket near the ladder's feet, and striding out into the middle of the courtyard.

He followed her and sat in the grass, watching her with patient attention as the princess took a deep breath. "This looks easy, but we have to visualize where we want to be. For example, if I wanted to return to my tower, I would envision in my mind."

"What does it look like?" The memory of another night flitted through his mind but he shook it off. Perhaps it was another room she had wanted to be in that night.

"It is large in comparison to the others." She shut her eyes as if it would help her visualize it better. Maybe it did. "The curtains are ripped. I did that when I first arrived. I was very... _angry_ about what had happened. The bed is small, pressed against the wall. The blanket is old. I was holding onto it when I was taken. It doesn't smell like home anymore. Its got this never ending stench of dust and old soil but the smell doesn't come out. It's day so there'll be sunlight; lots of it. My carpet is off to the side. It's a little pink now." She waved her hand in a large circle and the portal rippled to life like the colour of stars. It panned out to the same room he had seen before, only this time it looked cleaner, more well kept. The sheets were nearly straightened, light streaming through the hole in the window with vivacity, washing it all in a pleasant glow.

"It's beautiful," he said simply. "Looks almost comfortable."

"Almost," she agreed, closing the portal with a sharp wave of her hand.

"How long did it take you to learn to create those portals?"

"A few days. You'd be surprised how much necessity can spurn the learning process."

He nodded slowly. "As a knight accustomed to constant battle, I can."

She seemed to soften a bit here, coming to sit next to him as the sunshine soaked through their exposed skin. "Is it very difficult? To battle like you do?"

"Sometimes."

"Will you tell me of it?" She inched closer to him as she did in the courtyard, before he had unintentionally offended her. "Honestly?"

He smirked. "What makes you think that I would not tell you these things honestly?"

"Just _tell_ me."

"You grow accustomed to it, like you in this labyrinth. If you want to survive, you get used to it faster," he admitted, the sun seeming to burn through his clothing and begin to warm his back.

"But your battles...they were difficult, no?"

"My first real fight was to help the King's hunting group search for fresh food." He grimaced at the memory. "I'd done it as a boy with my father, but King Dupre was insistent on getting harder, faster game, and by the time we took out two bucks I was exhausted and instructed to bring both bleeding animals to the castle.

"It's nothing like war, of course," he put in quickly, the scorch more prominent by his neck. "Real war between kingdoms have the fighting, the bloodshed and the scars all rolled into one. The knights you see cut down in battle are too many to count. The wounds they return with are worse. There are images there I would give anything to forget."

Maka paused, unsure of what to say. She didn't have to speak, Soul wanted to convey, just listening was enough. But she spoke anyway, her voice reaching out to him. "You must have fought hard."

"Harder than ever and yet I feel it will never be enough." Soul figured that he owed her some honesty in exchange for her kindness.

"The blood on your hands…" Thin nails dug into her palms as she watched him, expression twisting into one of disgust. "King Dupre must still be as bloodthirsty as his forefathers."

He frowned at the assumption. "Not at all. Rather, he has a preference for his enemies burned or flayed. Catapults of flame and setting fresh oil alight to wound the enemy...these are the strategies of our kingdom." The admittance felt like a burden, a burden heavier than before at her evident disgust.

"Men are bred for war, Soul," Maka said. "They will never cease once they have started. That is why women exist; to remind you that there is more than blood and bone."

His muscles tensed at the comparison. "That seems hypocritical. You held a knife to my throat upon our first meeting. Was that not warlike?"

"I was defending myself," she protested, "and I would have never used the item. Not on a human being."

"And yet you believe all men would?" She shifted a bit, seemingly ashamed of her generalization so he soothed himself and calmly said, "Not all people are bred and born for war. Not all desire the power that the kings of old craved enough to lose their children, their minds and their dignity."

"Not even you?"

" _Especially_ not me." Soul ran his good hand through the grasses. His knuckles brushed against Maka's and instead of shying away, her hand stayed perfectly in place. "Maka, if I may…"

"You may." She did not hesitate, no doubt expecting his next question.

"Why did the sorcerer desire for the princesses of the curse to be locked up? Why not the sons? I mean no offense, but surely, the disappearance of the princes would have forced the kings' hand."

"For the same reason I believed; that men were bred and born for war. In times like ours, a princess may be used as a bargaining chip or a treaty. We are spoils of war or we are goddesses to motivate our people. Without a maiden, princes and kings can wage war on one another freely, settling their fights with fists and fire rather than marriages. When I look back on it, I believe that the sorcerer genuinely intended for the kingdoms to destroy one another, blaming each other for the missing daughters. The persecution of witches would be put on hold for the sake of revenge. The kingdoms would take arms against one another and she would be able to watch them all burn."

They sat in silence for a while with that thought, a fresh gust of wind sweeping through the courtyard to ruffle foliage. It pushed past the pair, slipping through his hair and playing with her dress. She pushed it down with a spare hand, the other trying to still her wild bangs amidst the wind. The sun caught the golden trim along her chest, letting it sparkle and shine for a bit before being hidden by clouds, the wind seeming to follow it into hiding. Soul contemplated leaving before her voice probed out again. "Do you have someone waiting for you?"

"I don't understand."

"When you return to Elderheim," she tried again, "will there be someone there expecting you?"

"Besides the King?" he offered bluntly.

"Yes, besides him. Is there someone else waiting on your return?"

He had never given much thought to his return. Perhaps there was a part of him that had never expected him to defeat the dragon at all. Dying in battle was honourable, and if he did so, he would technically be free and far away from his allegiance to the king. "My parents have given up on my future but my brother...I'm sure that he misses me in a way. He will no doubt be expecting my report on the whole adventure."

"That's all?"

"Should there be more?"

"No, of course not," she said quickly, her face hidden from him although he swore he could see a tinge of red on her ears. He watched her brush back ashen strands gently. "If I may ask, when you bring Jacqueline back, what will you get? You mentioned it before, but I don't think I truly believed you then."

"It is my freedom that I desire and it is my freedom that I will get in exchange for the princess." He paused, contemplating on how much truth to reveal. "I never wanted to be a knight. I would have been just as happy carving lutes or selling hay. After the life I have lived, after the fighting and blood, all I want now is peace. A peaceful place to spend the rest of my existence. I'm sick of all the fighting."

"Where would you go?" She got a bit closer to him, as if he was weaving a new tale to tell the princesses at his daily story period. "No kingdom is truly at peace."

"I don't know. A smaller village. Maybe one near the ocean. I've heard of it but I've never actually seen it. It would be nice…" a wistfulness overtook his features before he remembered that she was still with him. "And you? Once free of the labyrinth, would you enjoy the frivolities of nobility a changed woman?"

"I don't believe that I will ever have that luxury." Her fingers played with blades of grass.

"You have little hope in knights; Kim told me that once."

"True. There is no lie in that. I lost my faith in them many years ago."

"You must have lost hope in other faithful things like fire and fresh water springs." She slapped his arm with renewed energy and her brooding frown dissipated at his teasing words. He smirked. "Am I wrong?"

"Of course! I have faith in flame and water. They are nature's elements to command."

The smile on his lips persisted. "And you do not think knights abide by some similar element?"

"Not truly. Knights like you are controlled by your king and your impulses. Nothing more."

"What a horrendous bunch you must think us," he laughed a while before asking her, "And yet you hope for your fellow princesses?"

"I must hope for them," she said, her shoulders squared. "I must hope and think and breath for those girls because some may never see the outside. Some of the younger ones have yet to realize this, but as our bodies remain young, our minds grow rich with dust from disuse. I should think it common for us to blindly put our faith in rusted metal and corrupted knights; princesses have for centuries. But here, in the labyrinth…" Maka took a shallow breath, "for those of us under _this_ curse, the likelihood of rescue is low. The sorceress who sealed us was very detailed in her rules. There are no loop holes that we haven't already looked for, no weak points which we may exploit. I am resigned to my fate. I have been for some time."

"Sometimes," he began, "it sounds as if the sorceress, instead of saving you from such kingdoms, was punishing you instead. It was punishment for the kings, truly, but there's more to it."

"For some, she was like a saviour; taking away maidens from confined lifestyles was a dream we always had. Some enjoy the life of a princess; the duties the gifts, the honour. Kim is an example of a maiden who loved that life. I was another. But things are different now. I have experienced this life and I know what independence feels like, what freedom tastes like on one's tongue. It is a glorious feeling; one you understandably desire."

"Of course. But I don't believe a curse like this would help me realize that."

"How mature of you," she scoffed, green eyes turning bitter with memory. "Yes, I realized that as well. After Chrona died, I became far more aware of my mortality, of the fate I had been given, and I grew to hate it and loathe what I had become. Much time has passed since then. I am more...content now and have since accepted it."

"The sorcerer's child," started Soul carefully, unsure how he felt about her returning to the topic of the curse that sealed her here. "How long has it been since they passed away?"

"One hundred and twenty years," she replied thickly, clutching at the grass and making as if to pull the whole clump out.

"If I may, how long have you been here?"

Maka stared into his eyes. "Do you _really_ want that answer?"

"Will it matter if I do?" His heart caught in his throat. It was a fair question to ask. He had been asking it of himself on and off for so long. _Did_ he want an answer? He had been begging for it, hoping that she would open up and allow him to share with her memories that others could not. He expected no answer from the beauty, but if by the grace of God he got one...

"I suppose there's naught you could do to change it." She sighed. He waited with baited breath for the answer, trying not to look so eager but being unable to hold in his emotion when she stated, "I have been here for one hundred and twenty-five years, Soul. Like I said, I understand that I am never leaving."

"Gods, Maka." He instinctively grabbed for her hand, heart constricting in his chest. He had imagined that she had been held captive by her curse for years, maybe half a century at most, but more than two? He could only imagine the pain she must of felt, the fury she had no doubt endured as one of the first princesses to be drawn in to the curse's power. Lady Kim had told him of the one hundred year gap between himself and the last knight. She must have felt so wretched to know that another princess had been saved instead of herself. How it must have raised her hopes that another might soon come. How much hatred she must have felt, year after year without a knight to rescue her, and coming to the conclusion that she would never leave; that she was bound to the tower and the other maidens without any hope of escape. "What a life you must have lived." Or perhaps, none at all, he thought as she stared at his calloused hand.

"I'm used to it." She pulled away, looking anything but used to it. "I don't need your sympathy."

"You have it regardless," he vowed, turning his head back to the tree with a weight on his chest. One hundred and twenty-five years; over a century with this distrust brewing in her soul. How long had she waited for a knight to save her? How long had it been since she had ceased hoping for her rescue? Her words, empty and lifeless came over him so completely that he had to choke down the feeling. Soul stood and, with a deep breath, asked her how many apples she would need to make dessert, a question she had not anticipated.

"Fourteen." She stared at him as he went back up the ladder, and her eyes never left him, even when he delivered her to the other chefs and left for his check up with Kim, it was as if a part of her was always with him. This bit of information, this heaviness that came with her omission, remained. He wasn't sure if that was the moment he vowed to take her with him. After saving Jacqueline, after gaining his freedom, he vowed to return for her. He would do what it took. He would restore her faith.

Or die trying.

* * *

 **And this is the next chapter! Hope you guys enjoyed and I look forward to sharing the next part of the story with you all.**

 **Feel free to leave any comments, questions or concerns in the review box below or PM me!**

 **Thanks so much for reading and I appreciate those of you that took the time to review.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Human**

Lady Patricia was crushing flowers to make coloured paint when Soul entered the common room. There weren't many princesses there. A few girls loitered around the base of the painting, which curved down from the center of the ceiling and now seemed to almost reach the floor. The illustration seemed to have intensified in colour, though whether that was due to the magic of the hall or brighter candlelight, he did not know. He wagered that it was a bit of both. Perhaps, the idea came to him as an afterthought, Lady Patricia had taken it upon herself to repaint the entire wall.

"It revitalizes itself, silly," she said, her voice startling him out of his thoughts.

"What?"

She rolled her light eyes at him. "I didn't repaint it. Do you know how _long_ that would take?"

"I suppose you're right about that."

"Of course I'm right. You don't live here for five decades and _not know_ how the magic of the place works."

Soul blinked. As sad as her story had turned out, Lady Patricia was forth coming with the information despite appearing to be a bit more mad than her fellow maidens. Between her and her sister, Soul had found out that their mother had made some kind of deal with the sorceress. When she couldn't pay back the debt she owed on time, her first born daughter, Elizabeth, was stolen away to spend the rest of her days in an abandoned tower until the debt was paid. Their father, outraged that the mother had bargained with their child, left her. When Patricia was born, their mother had once again dug a sizable hole for herself. She made another deal with the sorceress like she had before, and ended up losing Patricia in it. The only way to free them both was for the debt to be paid in full, and Soul had the sinking feeling that nobody had enough to make up for what their mother had squandered.

"You've been here for a long time."

"Definitely." She pursed her lips and showed him the contents in her mortar. "Do you think this is red enough?"

"Yes, I do." The poor flora had become nothing but pulverized mush, dark as blood. The hand holding the pestle was tinged with the an odd splash as it dotted the heel of her palm and stained the rim of Patricia's sleeve. "What are you going to paint?"

"The real question is _why_ am I going to paint?"

"So why are you going to paint?"

"Because I want to." He smirked at the answer. "Isn't that why you came to save Jackie?"

"Not quite, princess."

She gave him a blank look. "That's too bad."

"It can be." They sat in silence for a bit before Soul hazarded a new question. "How much do you know about Princess Maka?"

"You mean, Maka?"

"Right, yes."

"Like I said before, I know she really likes books."

"I learned that as well," Soul confirmed, although his introduction to her overwhelming love of literature was via a large tome aimed at his head after he had teased her about her cooking.

"Are you going to save her instead?"

"What do you mean?"

"Save her instead of Jackie! I mean, you sure seem to like her more than Jacqueline."

"Ah, that's not-" Soul floundered with the right words. "I can't do something like that to Princess Jacqueline. She is relying on me to return her to her father. To betray her and take Maka instead…"

She beamed at him. "I was just teasing. It's not like you _may_ take her instead. You must take Jackie home. You are _her_ knight. Your duty is to her father."

"Right, of course." Soul let out the breath he had not known he was holding. He had contemplated Patricia's suggestion, had briefly entertained the idea of taking Maka instead and fleeing until learning that he physically could not travel to her towering prison from the labyrinth. Bringing Maka back to her kingdom was a new mission, a new goal for him. But to neglect the one that came before her, to ignore Jacqueline's need for rescue was something that he could not do. He was nothing if not loyal and he would not betray the princess of his country for some strange woman with a fiery temper and a smile that warmed his soul.

"But that doesn't mean you can't come back for her."

"That's true," Soul said slowly.

"So are you?"

"Am I what?"

"Are you going to come back for her?"

"I…" He rubbed the back of his neck, flushing. He wanted to say _of course_ , but feared it would be too forward of him. "I want to."

The princess giggled. "I knew it."

"But you can't tell her. Not yet, anyway."

"I understand," she sang, although it sounded like she understood far more than she let on. "Come paint with me?"

"Paint?"

"Don't tell me you've never painted before!"

"I mean, I have…" He took the brush from her and held it delicately between his fingers. "It's just been a really long time."

"A really long time? I know about stuff like that," she said happily, pushing the bowls of paint closer to him and handing him a scroll of paper. "Here."

Soul turned the parchment in his hands. "Where did you even get these?"

"Well, we grow the flowers."

"And the paper?"

Patricia shrugged. "I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"I mean that I don't know. Maka just brings it sometimes. I think she found a way to either make it from the trees or take the ink out of the paper we already have."

"That sounds ingenious."

"Yeah. Either way, if we didn't have magic, this place would be _pretty_ boring."

The princess went back to her painting and Soul gazed around at the art of the wall. The stories depicted maidens of every kind being rescued or breaking their own curses. One showed that of a woman whose eye had been cursed by the sorceress out of jealousy for her. The maiden went to a physician then, a medicine man with gray hair, and broke her curse. Despite her eye being injured permanently, the maiden managed to break even the medicine man's curse and the pair lived, as the tales go, 'happily ever after'. "These look inspiring," he said. He had a growing appreciation for fairy tales and other stories. He no longer knew how many of them were real and how many of them were just variations of another truth that his people had struggled to understand. Maka was making him doubt the stories he had been told as a child. And he wasn't altogether sure that that was a bad thing.

"Have you decided what you're going to paint?" asked Lady Patricia, her blue eyes glowing in the torchlight.

"No, not yet."

"Well, you can paint anything you want. There's lots of colours to choose from. A lot of red," she conceded with a grin, "but there are others too. Pick what you like." She gestured over to the multiple bowls that littered the table, filling in the space. He could see paint chips drying on the rim of each bowl and their colours hinted to a crackling blue or a peeling yellow by the wooden edge. Soul's paintbrush tapped against the edge of the yellow paint bowl, which was already starting to darken and brown like light through a dusty curtain.

Soul hadn't painted since he was a young child. He was not a squire or the son of a rich merchant. Instead, he was a boy that played with his big brother in their room with colours. Even though Wesley had been better at the art, Soul had enjoyed it all the same. He had an acute appreciation for the colours and shapes and dimensions that made up a fine piece of art. Even the random scrawls of a child could be appealing with the right eye for it.

"Have you decided what you're going to paint?"

"Not quite yet."

"Have anything in mind?"

"Um…" He entertained the idea of trying to paint Maka; from her fair hair to the rich green of her dress. It was certainly an idea. But if she found it, how would she react? Would it be appropriate to draw a friend, a woman that he may or may not be romantically interested in? "Sort of."

"Off you go then!" cheered Patricia. "I'm sure Maka will love it."

He tried not to think too much on the comment and started to paint. It had been ages since he felt free to do whatever he wanted. Staying with the women of the labyrinth had given him an opportunity that he would never have gotten otherwise. And Maka… _Maka_. Just her name gave him more life than he thought possible. Sure, all they had now was loose friendship, but he was growing on her. He knew that she wasn't as angry as she pretended to be all the time. And he was not as abrasive with her as he used to be when she tried to pry into his past. He was growing more practiced with her, and with every new question she answered for him, Soul's mounting affection for her grew.

Maka was full of fire, he thought to himself as he painted. She was all fire and spirit, and it was something that he adored. There were many different types of women, but Maka was one of a kind to him. She had as much finery as she had feistiness; an utterly perfect combination, in his opinion.

Soul knew what he wanted to paint but couldn't change it once he had started. The knight had committed to it, and he would follow it out till the end. He worked on each stroke in slow, calculated movements. The other maidens were forgotten in Soul's new quest.

"You're painting."

He glanced up to see Maka walking towards him. Patricia giggled out a greeting and set back to the parchment.

Soul pinked. "We are."

"Patty paints constantly; she a budding artist. I didn't know you were as well."

"I'm not, but she requested that I tried and I figured that it couldn't hurt."

"It looks really...nice."

"You flatter me."

"No, it does. Right here reminds me of an angel." She leaned over his shoulder, chest dangerously close to his cheek as she pointed to the green wings floating about in the sky. "I like it."

"You can have it," he found himself saying, his mind suddenly going blank at their proximity.

"Really?" She met his eyes and he flushed, turning away from her scrutiny.

"Yeah. It's not going to do a knight much good."

"Thank you."

Something smooth and soft pressed against his cheek. Had she-

He did not move an inch as she left his side and waited until he could see her drifting to Patricia's side before straightening. Her cheeks were dusted pink as well.

"You two are adorable," crooned Patty with her eyes still set firmly on the page.

"Oh hush," said Maka, "it was for thanks."

"Right. For thanks," Soul echoed, his heart beating rapidly in his chest.

* * *

He figured that the kiss was a type of permission. His meetings with Maka grew more and more frequent after that, their acquaintance shifting to friendship and morphing into something bigger than words could describe. Every now and then, her hand would brush his, their thighs touched beneath the dining table, or the occasional bumping of shoulders occurred in the narrow hallways. Soul had even managed to convince Maka to hold his hand or arm when going down the stairs. She had nearly tripped once, but one time, in his presence, was all it had taken.

"Soul," she had said, "you can't walk me down every stairway."

"I can if I must."

He didn't think it would lead him to eagerly walking around the labyrinth halls when she was busy and hoping to catch her at the corners so he could walk her places and talk to her. Admittedly, she did most of the talking, but almost anything with her was pleasant. _Laundry_ was pleasant. Such a thing had never occurred in him before; to simply enjoy _being_ with her was unlike anything else. It was liberating.

"Soul, don't drool," she was saying now, scolding him for a habit that he had always had a hard time breaking.

"But it looks so _good_."

She blushed at the compliment. "It's not that good."

"As someone who is used to living on small, ration packs during a battle, it looks absolutely delicious."

"That doesn't make me feel better."

Soul shrugged and sat down before the plate Maka had prepared for him. When he had offered to meet her at night to make up for her lack of presence during the day, this wasn't what he meant. He had not expected her to bring him a midnight snack in the slightest.

"So what exactly is the occasion?" Soul asked, moving the assortment of fruit on his plate. As much as he appreciated it, he missed the helpings of meat he used to get. It felt like a lifetime since he had eaten chicken or pork or beef of any kind. Still, the gesture coupled with the quantity meant more to a hungry man than most things.

"There is no occasion. It's a gift, if you'd like to think of it like that."

"Nah." Soul popped a handful of berries into his mouth. "You want something from me, Lady Maka. What could it be?" She bit her lip and looked decidedly away from him. "You're a horrible liar." He wiped his hands on his trousers and reached over to turn Maka's head towards him. His fingers were gentle on her skin, and once he had her attention, he drew his hand back with hidden regret. "What is it that you want from me?"

"I wanted to ask you some things," she said finally. Her green eyes grew bright and eager. "I would understand if you would rather not talk about them, but you've been very forthcoming with other types of information. I thought that perhaps tonight, we could change that."

"So that's why you're bribing me with food?"

"Well, my mother did say once that the best way to a man's heart is through his stomach."

"And you're trying to get to my heart?"

She flushed rapidly. "I'm _trying_ to get to your brain, which is about the same place. Your memories and past are locked up in there. Don't be strange about this."

Soul turned a berry between his fingers. "What exactly do you want to know?"

"What are you willing to answer?" Maka shot back.

"It depends."

"On?"

"On how much food I've got to keep me going." He popped a berry into his mouth.

"Fine just," Maka tapped his hand, "eat slower, would you?"

"We'll see," he teased. "So, your first question?"

"Where to begin?" she murmured to herself, looking around the room for some inspiration. "Oh! I've got it! Your parents-"

"Next question." He'd cut her off so abruptly that she almost seemed to flinch back. "I didn't mean to startle you," he said sorely, "but my parents are just a topic I can't really deal with right now. I'll answer anything else. I'd just rather it not be about my lineage."

"I understand," she said softly, "we've all got our secrets."

"That we do." Soul leaned back into the chairs.

"Your knighthood," she began, inching closer to him, "do you enjoy that you get to fight for your king?"

"As I've mentioned before, I don't enjoy killing," said Soul, "but King Dupre gave me purpose when I had none, and I will always be grateful to him."

"But you no longer want to be in his service."

"I have new goals now," he said, their gazes locked. "It's what drives me forward now and I won't stop until I've accomplished it."

"New goals. Like what?"

"Like living by the sea," he said, "and not killing people to make a living. I'm sick and tired of it."

They sat in silence while she mulled over this answer. When she felt ready to continue, she asked him about what he used to do in his free time. "I had a friend I spent a great deal of time with," he admitted. "They were fantastic and brave and bold and I enjoyed their company very much."

"I thought you said that you didn't have a woman waiting for your return?" said Maka, sounding as sour as one of the spare grapes he had eaten just a moment ago. She shied away from him, her back straight and stiff. Could she be…? No, certainly not.

"When did I say that?" he asked.

"Oh, well, I just assumed that when we talked before," she blushed, "about someone waiting on your return, I thought-"

"Well, _he_ was a great man with big plans and a bigger personality." Soul laughed at the memory of him and at Maka's even more pronounced flush. "He had outrageous coloured hair that he swore was given to him by his father, and since the pair of us stood out among the others, we bonded quickly."

"That's sweet," she got out finally.

"He was a pain in my ass," said Soul fondly, "but I've missed talking to him. That man could never stop talking, even on the battlefield. He always seemed to have something to say. It broke the tension."

"You'll see him again," Maka said with a smile. "I'm sure he's waiting for you."

"Maybe, but only if he thinks I haven't already died." Soul ate some more of the berries. "When do you find time to pick these out?"

"They were ripe a couple days ago so I collected them."

"You've been planning this for a couple of days?"

"Not at all! These are leftovers from last night that I figured you might like since you mentioned that you enjoyed berries like this."

"You remembered that? I think I made that comment at least three weeks ago."

"Yes, well, I was in earshot and for some reason it stuck with me," her cheeks resumed their pink hue and Maka played with her hair, which flowed loosely over her shoulders and straight into her hands. She seemed to braid her hair when she was nervous, her fingers weaving the ashy strands together in a steady pattern.

"Thank you."

Her cheeks darkened again and Soul lifted up a piece of fruit to her mouth. She hesitated, but ultimately Maka leaned forward to take it into her mouth, her lips brushing Soul's fingers in the exchange.

"What else did you want to ask me? You're making me feel like you had a whole list of questions that you planned to ask me as though my past is worth digging into."

"Of course it is." Maka swallowed the sweetness and continued to work at her hair. "You're a product of your past. It's made you what you are."

Soul pressed his fist against the flat of his palm and relished in the sound of each crack. "And what exactly would that be?"

Maka hesitated. She contemplated the thought before giving him her decided answer: "A good person."

"Well," he said slowly, his whole body pulling back with shock, "I was certainly not expecting that."

"Do you not think that you are a good person? That you are not deserving of that description?"

"There are better men than me that deserve that title."

She blinked slowly at him thoughtfully before pulling a small smile out. Her green eyes echoed the sentiment. "You are being humble."

"I am."

"But you are a _good_ person. At least to me." He just stared at her, too in awe of her seemingly blind faith in him to eat.

"You _think_ I'm a good person because you don't know other good people, but you will. When you get out of here, you'll learn that."

"Meeting other people isn't going to change the fact that I think you're good, you know that? You're the best you there is."

He snorted at the sentimentality. "Did you read that in one of your books?"

"Even if I did, it doesn't make it less true." She took his hand. "You are good; to me, to the girls or to the world, it does not matter. You are still a _good_ man. That will not change."

Oh, how he would have loved to believe her; to believe that he was worth something, that he was _good_. "Good men don't leave their families at the first opportunity presented to them by the king, no matter how appealing the offer."

Maka was quiet. This was the first bit of information she had been able to pull from him about his parents. The first real clue to her as to who he was before he entered knighthood and devoted his life to his king. He had spit it out like a curse and felt the backlash of it in the tightening of his chest.

"And you did?'

"I might have." He reached for the mug of ale she'd left out for him earlier. "It's a decision that some people regret and some people don't. I can't imagine that it would make someone a good person."

"People that do that…" she began, "they must have reasons for those sort of things."

"Selfish reasons," he affirmed, taking a swig from the ale jug.

" _Personal_ reasons," Maka corrected him, "and that's natural. I do not believe in perfect humans; they are not possible. Sometimes...sometimes families just aren't good families. Maybe they're not suited for their child."

"That doesn't sound right."

"Well, it can be true." Maka pressed the tips of her fingers against his knuckles. She traced the indents and pale scars before flipping it over and feeling around his palm. "You are _good_."

"I am human," Soul offered instead as he wondered what exactly Maka gained while still sympathizing with him.

"I don't like that you doubt me. One should never feel as low as you evidently do. To think, you would rather escape your own parents… It must have been difficult to deal with them. I do not what to think them horrible but they were bad enough to drive you away. That alone is despicable."

"Maka-"

"No, Soul. I will not ask more of you; I promise. These memories are painful enough to live through. To live through it again in telling me these things is difficult enough.

"They're just stories, Maka," Soul said weakly. He'd swallowed his sadness for years without the least bit of worry of it ever resurfacing, and some mournful words from Maka was all it took to remind him of his loneliness.

Soul stood abruptly, feeling the sting in his eyes beginning and took a breath. "I should go."

"Go?" Maka rose to meet him rapidly and her hip bumped the table in her sharpened stance.

"Maka-"

"It's nothing, I'm fine."

Reflexively, he put his hand along her hip and rubbed at the spot. "This is to prevent any severe bruising." He continued it in rhythmic movements until she placed her hand over his. "What-" Her cheeks seemed to burn scarlet amidst the dancing shadows by candlelight and he realized what exactly he was doing. "I'm sorry, Princess, I-"

"I thank you for your concern." She pulled his hand away and twisted their fingers together. She welcomed him closer, just not closer to her hips. "I was just startled. Are you well enough? I'm sorry if it-"

"No, no, I'm tired, is all. I will be back to my old ways tomorrow after a well deserved rest." Soul tried to shake off his embarrassment and replace it with reassurances. Lie as he might, that much was true; he would be back to his old self. Maka was turning out to be a greater friend than he thought possible. He found a comfort in Maka that he had never known before. It was an inexplicable kind of shifting in his stomach and a lightness in his muscles that he had not felt in a long time.

"We'll head back to the infirmary for you then." She slipped her hand into his and squeezed it. "Shall we?" They walked out into the torch lit tunnels. Despite the familiar darkness of the tunnels, Maka's proximity kept him warm and sated as they wove through the halls.

"Soul," she said after a while, "may I say something?"

He eyed her with a smirk set on his face. "When have you ever asked permission to say something to me? You are a princess."

"I just wanted to thank you for coming to save Jacqueline."

"I, um," Soul coughed awkwardly to the side, "you're welcome."

"Jacqueline is one of the newer maidens ensnared by our curse but she never lost hope. I've always tried to do right by them and keep their spirits up and convince them that they could still have a life here. But very few have escaped on their own. Kim, Tsubaki, Jacqueline and myself... we are all that's left of our curse and I don't think there's a chance for us. Yet you can here and found Jacqueline's portal and came to rescue her.."

Maka's eyes were once more fixed away from him but she stayed close with her head resting against the knight's shoulder. "It was my duty."

"I can tell," agreed Maka. "You have a great deal of duty _and_ honour. I admire that about you."

"Do you? I find myself more full of cowardice by the day."

"I didn't know you felt that way," mumbled Maka. "You're a great deal braver than you give yourself credit for."

"To you, perhaps. And I do thank you for your faith in me. It's...different than what I'm used to."

"It shouldn't be if you were given the support you deserved."

Soul shook his head. "You're braver than I am. I don't think I've ever seen a woman with more fire in them than you."

"Plenty of women have passion and fire," scolded Maka lightly. "Just because you cannot see it does not mean it is not there."

"My apologies. I did not mean-"

"I know."

"But-"

"Soul." They stopped walking. Her fingers danced up his arm and brushed at the fair, white hair above his brow. It was as if she was daring him to touch her. He tried to keep his own hands in check, clenching them into fists and pressing them against the sides of his body. "You respect me and the others here. That means enough to us, and that means more than you know to me. You treat me as an equal or better; I am never less than you when you speak to me. You have honour and loyalty. I can only admire you more for those things." Her fingers trailed down the curve of his face, brushing against stubble that poked her delicate skin. She took a step forward and she was so near that his arms reflexively came up. In an instant, Soul could feel heat radiating off of her and teasing his bare palms, which hovered inches from her waist. Maka laughed at his hesitance, and when he tried to apologize for almost steadying her himself, she pushed herself against the length of him and held him close.

There were only so many 'hugs' Soul had received in his life, but he had not remembered how safe they could feel until he was in Maka's arms. At this invitation, he allowed his own arms to curl around the maiden's body. Soul's cheek pressed loose strands of blonde hair to her head and he could feel her breath dance over his covered chest. He had not felt so light in a long time. As he clutched her warmth closer, he found himself drunk on their proximity. Maybe it was because he was tired, or because the torchlight cast shadows up and down the tunnel walls like monsters, but the need to protect this woman with his life flared in his heart. He was, undoubtedly, in love with her, he realized. Weeks of friendship and flirtation had led to his growing feelings. Soul had been nursing his infatuation with her with every teasing comment and playful smile. The time they had spent together burned brightest in his memory. How he had not seen his interest and curiousity become affection was beyond him. But now that he had acknowledged it, he couldn't forget it.

Even if the curse wiped his memory, a part of him was certain that he would figure out some loophole, some way to remember the beautiful feeling he was feeling towards Princess Maka.

"Thank you," she said softly, and her voice broke the illusion. Soul pulled away from her slowly, mournfully almost, and reached for her fingers. He brought them up to his mouth and she let his lips touch the back of her hand with a shy smile. At the end of the day, Maka was a princess. Even if he was to save her and whisk her away, he would have to return her to her kingdom and to whatever princely future she was no doubt destined for. It would break his heart to see her married to another, but it would be worse for her to be trapped here with the knowledge that he could have returned for her and chose not to.

It did not help that she was a kind person, so sweet and generous and good, that probably did not love him at all. Towards him, she likely felt nothing but kindness, and Soul consoled himself with the knowledge that perhaps it would not always be that way. He would be her friend and companion always, for as long as he lived. Their weeks together had assured their friendship. But if he was to win her heart, he would have to be worthy of it; princely and righteous and as good as she believed him to be. For the first time in a long time, Soul wanted to be _better_ for Maka.

And as he wished her goodnight and went to bed, he felt determined that he would do whatever it took to make her happy, to keep her safe and, finally, to deserve her at all.

* * *

 **And I'm back with the next chapter! How did you guys enjoy it? I've been kind of suffering in real life and fic has really been an escape for me. I appreciate all the readers out there that are keeping me going with favourites and reviews! I'm working on the rest of the story and I'll try to get it out when I can.**

 **For more writing stuff from me, I recently created a side-blog on tumblr called realtrashwriting for any writing work I want to put out. Everything I post there will eventually get placed on FFN but I just haven't gotten around to it yet. Feel free to check it out!**

 **And as always, if you have any questions, comments or concerns, feel free to drop them in the review box below or PM me. Thanks for the time and I'll see you in the next chapter!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Gods it's been too long since I updated. This isn't long and, let's be honest, it won't be very happy but it'll get better. I promise!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater.**

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Break My Heart**

His wounds had healed considerably well. Kim was truly a trained physician when she wasn't worrying about her clothes or fussing with Jacqueline in one of the meeting rooms. His arm felt much better than it had before and walking was no longer a problem for him. Soul had the ability to run alongside some of the younger maidens, girls he could see only as young children rather than future queens. That did not mean they could not command and have things done as they wished. In fact, the younger princesses were likely the most interesting and powerful group amongst the others, telling people what to do and enveloping everyone they came across into their masterful plans.

"Soul, let me go right now."

"No can do, Maka," he said, hand lingering around her wrists. Squished together beneath an infirmary cot on the stone floor, he and Maka hid from the princesses in a game the others had come up with. No portals were allowed, and as they had been counting in the courtyard so the others could hide in the labyrinth, Soul had naturally come to the place he believed they wouldn't check. The girls had something against the infirmary, likely the antiseptic and smell of blanched white sheets forced them away, and it seemed ideal. Until, of course, he had heard their footsteps echoing down the tunnel and forced him to hide with Maka to prevent her from ratting him out.

"I won't tell them," she assured him, still trying in vain to convince Soul that she would be loyal and keep his hiding place secret.

"Can't risk it. If they find me, they will dare me to do something wretched, just you wait. I'll be forced to do their laundry until I'm fully recovered."

"That won't happen," she hissed. Maka's wrist jerked in his cage but he had no intention of letting her go. "Soul!"

"Hush, princess, you'll give away my spot."

"Why do you have to drag me into this? You know that I'm not playing. I've got too many abilities."

"Sure, that's what they say," his red eyes flashed playfully, "but do you truly have extra abilities?"

"Yes, because I can sense where they are when I want to," Maka huffed. "It's an ability I gained from Chrona before they passed away. If I was the seeker, it just would not be fair to the others."

"They did not gain this same gift?" Soul fished carefully.

"No. All of them have the ability to create portals and illusions, but none save Kim and myself were granted extra abilities."

"Why is that?"

"Kim comes from a long line of healers." She tried to get more comfortable, using her free arm to cushion her head and stare up at him. "And to prevent any more deaths or injuries, accidental or otherwise, Chrona thought we needed a physician."

"And Kim was the best choice?"

"She was, at the time. Now, I believe Tsubaki would make a skilled doctor, but she enjoys the peace of her life and I wouldn't want to disturb her."

"And you?"

She frowned. "What of me?"

"Your gifts; why were they given to you?"

"Do you not think me deserving of them?" she teased.

"Not at all. It is simply that you, who have been here the longest, would know how and why you received such gifts, don't you agree?" Recently, Maka had been more receptive to talking of her imprisonment, or her history with the labyrinth. After their first barrier had been demolished and she revealed a bit of her past, more flooded through. She no longer flinched at the mention of her capture and did not avoid him when he mentioned his knighthood or men in general. Maka was growing more open by the day, and their conversations were evolving like the strange sort of poetry he used to hear in taverns. They had conversations that seemed to flow on and on, continuing even in the silence, even between waiting for the girls to find them, between eyes that watched him with mossy intellect.

"I would agree." He released her and she curled up next to him beneath the bed. She seemed a bit uncomfortable with this question however, and he could only imagine why. Maka's gifts had been allocated to her because she had volunteered to do so, however one could never get magic without giving something in return. The deal Lady Jacqueline had mentioned had been made between her and the sorcerer's child, but he could not fathom what she would have had to give up to obtain such power.

"You never told me what kind of deal you made," he whispered to her.

"I don't intend to, so stop pushing me about it."

"Sometimes pushing you is the only way to get any answers."

"If you keep pushing me, then I seriously won't tell you."

"That's not very fair."

"Life is not fair, Soul. Even you know that."

"Yes, but-"

" _Soul_ ," she warned, green eyes fixed decidedly on him.

"Fine. I-" Her hand slapped against his mouth sharply. Soul's brows knitted and he made to pull away but suddenly he could hear their voices, high-pitched and excited. His muscles tensed as he heard them open the infirmary door, giggling in quiet whispers to one another as they entered. His back was towards the door, but he could see their feet pass by his cot and move on to the others in the room.

"Soul? Are you here?"

"He's not going to respond, stupid. Just keep looking for him."

He could hear them sifting through the blankets, as if assuming they'd find him peacefully sleeping. "Maybe he's not in this room."

"But Kim said she saw him run this way."

As the maidens neared his bed, their slippers nearing him, he shifted forward instinctively. A part of him was afraid that they would stick their hand beneath the cot to feel for him. He was surprised that they had not even looked. However, when he moved, so too did Maka. It seemed reflexive, for they both shifted into one another, her knees knocking against his beneath the cot. Her face was extremely close. Once more, he was struck by green eyes like summer trees and a scent more like flowers and candle wax than dust and molding drapery. The hand that had instinctively latched onto his shoulder tightened when he noted a maiden trying to stick her hand under the cot just behind Maka, feeling around for something.

"If everything okay, Meme?"

"I think I lost my clip," she said dreamily, still blindly searching beneath the bed. Despite the weakness of one arm, Soul managed to hook it over Maka's waist and pull her flush against his body. Catching sight of a fair, pink barrette, he flicked it over to the girl's eager hands. He watched as Meme pulled back her hand, her sleepy voice declaring her finding and having all of the girls clear out of the room. They stayed in place moment longer, eyes locked. He could feel the drawstrings of her dress tickle his fingers, her heat burning through his tunic while her cheeks coloured. The shadows hid parts of her face from view but her lips seemed closer than ever. If he just leaned down a bit, he'd be able to meet hers and taste that which he had been dreaming about the last few nights. It wouldn't be hard, he reasoned, and he noted that she seemed closer than ever before.

He had only to tilt his head down when she squeaked, "Sorry," her hand jolting away from his mouth and, unsure of where to put them, they rested on his shoulders, the curve of her elbow propping her up. "Um, Soul?"

"Yes, my Lady?"

"Your arm."

"It _is_ feeling quite recovered," he tugged her closer, eager to know if she had felt the same irresistible pull he had moments ago. "Thank you for asking."

"Soul, this is not appropriate."

"Because we are under a cot?"

"Because you are a knight."

"Am I not protecting you from getting caught just as a knight should?"

She slapped at his chest. "I'm not playing, idiot. You're just protecting yourself."

"So you wouldn't have minded getting caught down here with me? Since you're not playing, of course." She flushed, stuttering out some incomprehensible excuse that made Soul chuckle. "Not to worry, my lady, they are gone."

"That's what you say. And if they returned?"

"Well, then I ought to find another hiding spot. Unless you'd like to remain under here with me until dinner?"

The suggestion coloured her face and she tightened the hand on his shoulder. But something had changed in her eyes, something colder in the way that she stiffened. He released her, rolling out from under the bed. Soul was careful not to put too much pressure on his newly healed injury, fearing that the wounds would reopen and cause him more harm. He got to his feet slowly, expecting Maka to appear on the other side. When she did not, he stumbled over and offered a hand to aid her.

"Maka?" he asked, confused at her lack of action. "Maka, are you feeling well?"

"Yes, just… just give me a moment please." She stayed hidden before rolling out from under the bed. His extended hand seemed to surprise her, but she still took it, a word of gratitude drifting into the air between them.

"That was very close. They almost caught us." He brushed some of the dirt off her sleeves, conscious of how far his hands went. Had their proximity bothered her that much? "We have been spared." When she didn't say anything, he frowned. "Maka?"

She didn't say anything after that and when she remained in her daze, her face flushed and her eyes fixed decidedly away from him, he moved to the door.

"I've got to find a new hiding spot. I'll see you at dinner."

Only he didn't. After he'd left the infirmary, only to be found ten minutes later in the courtyard, he'd sought her out but had been unable to find her. Or speak with her. She hadn't shown up at dinner, and for a brief moment, as he was drinking his soup, he wondered if she knew that he had tried to kiss her beneath the raised cot. It would explain her embarrassment and her lack of speech. Granted, he'd never kissed a woman that hadn't been courting his advances, so he could have been reading the fair maiden all wrong. If she had realized his intentions, did her avoidance mean that she was simply not interested in him? Was there another reason she balked from him?

A friend of his had once tried to go after a maiden who had turned him down instantly. She had avoided him much like Maka did. Soul tried not to allow the thought to worry him, but once it had been brought up, it stuck to the corners of his mind, creeping into every thought. It persisted long after dinner had finished, after the hall had been cleaned, after he resolved to retire to the infirmary to sleep once more.

"Soul?" his head jerked up to meet the gaze of the table, Tsubaki seeming most unnerved with his absent mind. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Just tired."

"You certainly do look tired, but somehow I don't think that that is all. There is more to your mood. What is the problem?"

"What else?"

"Maka again?"

"Only every single time."

"What's the matter today? Is it another fight?"

"What makes you think that there's another fight?"

She shrugged. "It's just a feeling that I had. Is it a right feeling?"

"Might as well be," Soul groaned, laying his head down on the lacquered tabletop. "I don't even know what I did."

"Are you sure you did anything at all? Maka is a busy person, after all. Perhaps, she just isn't free."

"It wasn't like that. Me and the other girls, we were playing hide-and-seek."

"Mhmm."

"And I sort of got Maka to hide with me for a bit."

"And that was a problem?"

"I don't think so. I mean, we were pretty close in our hiding spot," his face heated up and the memory of it, "and nothing seemed wrong. But once we got out, she was acting different. More distant."

"Like she had before your friendship?"

"No, this isn't outright ignoring me because she's annoyed. It is different this time. Something more is there. I just don't know what it is."

Tsubaki tightened the band around her hair. "Knight Soul?"

"Yes?"

"How are you feeling? Are you in any physical pain?"

"Better than before, that's for sure."

"Would you say you are well enough to venture back out into the land and escort Jacqueline back to her father?"

"I believe so," his good hand moved over to his forearm and rubbed the muscle there, "but I'd rather stay here a while longer to make sure."

"You underestimate yourself. I've spoken to Kim, and while your pain lingers, you are, by her standards, well enough to leave."

"But?"

Tsubaki sighed. "It's not really my place to say." Her hands rubbed each other in her lap. "I would not want to risk getting Maka upset with me but she has spent too much time being upset at the world for things out of her control. It must end." Her eyes pierced his. "It needs to end."

"I'll do what I can."

"I know you will. Maka can be difficult sometimes, but you've seen more of her than any of us, I think. That alone gives me faith."

"Tsubaki…"

"Every night, Maka takes a walk through the labyrinth. She wants to make sure all the girls are well, taken care of, alive. It's really sweet. That'll be your chance to talk to her."

"Alright."

"Maka told me once that we are more likely to speak the truth when we are tired, and that is why we have the propensity to confess our darkest secrets in the dark of night. Perhaps, if you wait up for her, she will tell you what you need to hear and maybe you can find out more."

"And you can't just tell me?"

"I only know so much. I _think_ I know the reason, and if I'm right, all I ask is that you be gentle with her. And honest. Very, very, honest."

"Why-"

"You care about her. We can all see it."

"I-"

"And if you can find out her reasoning, perhaps there will be less tension between the pair of you."

"I really appreciate the help, princess."

"It is my pleasure."

* * *

When Maka's head peeked into the meeting hall, she wasn't expecting to see Knight Soul sitting there, his head buried in his arms as he lay face down on the table. The candle sitting in the middle of the table flickered weakly, the darkness creeping up to haunt the visage of the princesses on the wall. She walked over to him, her hand hesitantly brushing at his fringe, a soft, "Soul?" slipping from her lips.

He turned towards her hand and she watched as he opened his eyes to stare at her; a tired, piercing red unlike anything else she had ever seen.

"So you are awake."

"I was waiting for you. You never came to dinner."

"I wasn't hungry."

"Liar." She let him take her hand, his calloused fingers tracing the lines in her palm as she had done to him a few nights ago. "I'm getting better."

"I know."

"Will you tell me?"

"Tell you what?"

"Tell me the truth about you. About this place. You said it yourself, it's not like I'm going to remember anything once I leave with Jacqueline in about a week's time."

"I-"

"Please." He tugged her closer and held her hand to his heart. "Please, my lady. It is all I ask."

"You're sitting in my chair," she said softly.

"Tsubaki once told me that your seats reflect your status to the group. But I never truly understood her."

Maka sat next to him and gestured to the chairs around them with her free hand. "All these other chairs...they are simple and minimally decorated, yes?"

"Yes?"

"Every five years, you are to add something to the chair, to acknowledge that you have stayed so long. But my chair…" He looked at the ornate cushion, the embroidered cape, the colourful trinkets on the arms, paint swirling around the wood by her family crest, "I have long since run out of space to add things. I am...the first."

Her admission stunned him. "The _first_ princess?"

"One of the first, yes. My father once led the witch hunt and I now pay the price of his foolishness."

"But the others," his mouth felt dry, "they've only been here for a few years!"

"That's part of our spell, remember? The youth reminds us of what we have lost; what we have all lost. And I watched the girls stare into mirrors and lose their minds over the curses. I'd seen them jump out tower windows and use the fine cords of their dresses to-" she choked on the words to come and he raised her hand to his mouth, kissing the back of her hand.

"If this is too painful, I-"

"No, you should know. I felt so guilty after Tsubaki mentioned that you were having a tough time with me. Your kindness should not be punished."

"Not that much." Soul's red cheeks betrayed him. "I was worried that I did something wrong before."

"Before?"

"Under the bed?"

"You were being an idiot," she said, "but all men are, so I can't blame you." He hazarded a smile. "Earlier, you asked about the trade off for my powers."

"I did, my lady."

"And this is my answer. In order to gain the powers, I had to exchange something important to me; I had to make a promise that would be impossible to break."

"And?"

"I promised that I would not leave until the curse was broken."

"What?"

"The curse must be broken on the other four families before I may leave. It is conditional and binding."

"Why would you commit to that?" Perhaps it was the hour or the dim light that stoked his honesty but he was angry. "So you gave up? Just like that?"

"I didn't have a choice. My father's kingdom had fallen to ruin after the trials, nobody was going to come for me. My tale was lost in the history books and replaced with more fantastical adventures and legends. No one was coming to save me, Soul, so I did what I had to do."

"You could have waited. You didn't have to give up."

"It was better than leave the girls without strength and without magic. Chrona was dying. Giving me whatever power they had left would guarantee the survival of the princesses and I took the chance. Nobody was coming for me, nobody knows where my tower is, but _they_ still had a chance."

"I would have come for you," he vowed, looking into her eyes and finding tears in them.

"You hadn't even been born yet," she said weakly. "I spent months agonizing over what to do if someone found me. One man did, and took the gold without a second thought. One hundred years, and you're the first man who would have come to rescue _me_ from my tower. Amazing isn't it?"

"It will happen. I _will_ save you from the curse. I'll rescue every single maiden from their curses as long as it will save you."

"You will spend your life foolishly then," came Maka's stiff reply. "It would be better to live in blissful ignorance as husband to a future queen with Jacqueline."

"Husband?" The word felt strange in his mouth. "But I don't love Jacqueline."

"You could grow to."

"But I won't," he said firmly.

"You don't know that."

"I do."

"Soul, you are a knight to her _father_. You will be bound to their family for as long as you live."

"Perhaps it is _you_ who has forgotten why I wanted to rescue Princess Jacqueline. I wanted freedom. Freedom is more precious to me than anything else. It's what you've desired too; to be free of this place."

"This is a sanctuary."

"Who are you trying to convince? This is a _prison_. You have suffered enough. You don't have to convince yourself of this, Maka."

"I'm not leaving. It doesn't matter how many girls you save, I'm a lost cause. And whatever," she hesitated a moment, eyeing their hands, "we have is going to have to stop."

"But-"

"You deserve to be with someone who you have a chance with. I can't give you any sort of life."

"Maka, this is what I want."

"After you leave, that's going to change." His heart burned at the words. He was being rejected without even confessing his feelings. "I want this to hurt as little as possible, for the both of us. The last few weeks... I fear I have been leading you on. It's better if we spend less time together."

"I don't want to spend whatever time I have left here away from you. Maka, I-"

"If I wanted to spend it away from you? Then what? Are you not still a knight, bound by your honour to respect my wishes?"

Soul pulled away, years of practiced obedience rising in his throat and forcing him to stand. "Is that what you wanted to say? You hid all day so you could tell me _this_?" She nodded mutely. His nails cut into the flesh of his palm with frustration. "If that is your wish, my lady, then it shall be done."

"It's for the best," she supplied, almost desperately as he stalked to the door. She seemed more intent on reassuring herself of that than him.

"Maybe you believe that, but I do not believe it to be for the best of any one person in this castle. Nobody benefits from this kind of cowardice. Goodnight, Princess."

"Soul…"

"I am a knight, Princess Maka," he reminded her with a bitterness that made her flinch. "Perhaps calling me so would be more _appropriate_."

Maka's stiff shoulders and rigid posture persisted. "Of course."

"Goodnight, Princess," he said once more before disappearing out of the door and trying his best to will the burning behind his eyes away.

* * *

 **A/N: I have mixed feelings about this chapter. Maka is generally very courageous and I realized (a little too late) that this decision of hers is both brave and cowardly. Hope it isn't too OOC.**

 **Also, thanks for all the reviews you guys have been giving me. I really ought to responded to them personally but I've been a bit pressed for time. I'm mostly back on my feet now, so once school starts back up, I should be okay. I hope.**

 **Thanks for reading this and I look forward to the 2 or so chapters I have left to post!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Aaaaaaaaaaaand we're back with the second last chapter. Hope you guys have enjoyed so far! I really appreciate the support, especially considering that this piece really took a while to write. It hit many roadblocks, some of which were writing related but most of which were very heavily life related. It's easy to write up small fics but _so_ much harder to write a chapter for an on going story, especially since I was conscious of the world I'd previously developed as well as the future of the story. Ah well. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater**

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Nothing Left To Fix, Is There?**

There was a saying when Soul was a page that he had heard many times. The man he had learned it from was someone he had been shadowing for months. He had been old and quick with long gray hair and a voice that came out sharply. There had been rumours around the castle that he had killed his wife thinking she was a thief raiding their belongings. However, the longer Soul stayed with him, the more he believed the old knight was incapable of killing anyone. The maids who attended to him had said he was sick in both the mind and the heart, and that it was King Dupre's pity that allowed him to live so long.

A sickness in the heart that ate away at the soul and corrupted any feelings of happiness he could have come to know. Yes, Soul could understand that feeling more now. He understood it far more than he thought possible. The dull ache in his chest hadn't dissipated at all while the one in his arm had left him entirely. Kim deemed him ready to go.

The sun hung low in the sky. The last rays of light illuminated the courtyard like amber torches and the maidens all fluttered around, eager for the party that was to be had. Jacqueline and Soul would be departing for their kingdom the following morning. Their final night would be filled with music and dancing and food to celebrate her return to her kingdom. The girls did mourn, and Kim guessed that they'd all be crying later that night, but they were also excited to move forward. All the girls dreamed of freedom and, as it happened, Jacqueline was not the only girl preparing to go free that week. Another young maiden, a girl named Meme, had been cursed as a child with a case of sleepwalking. She had never been able to break the curse, which stated that she had to stay in bed for a full night. No matter what kind of restrictions she tried to give herself the night before, she would break free and roam the halls of her home unconsciously. The previous night, Meme, alongside Tsugumi and a young, blonde princess named Anya had attempted to hold her down as she slept. Their combined efforts, as well as something else they would not name, had successfully kept Meme in her bed for the entire night. The curse was lifted, and she would soon be able to leave the confines of the labyrinth and return home.

The mix of celebration and sorrow that the group expressed was something Soul could empathize with, but he tried not to. Instead, he worked dutifully to help hang decorations and set up tables for the maidens to eat. He assisted Tsubaki in the kitchen area and worked with Jacqueline in packing rations and spare dresses that had been sewn during her curse. Jacqueline expressed her mixed feelings about leaving and Soul tried to hold himself back from doing the same. After his conversation with Maka, he had vowed not to speak about his feelings to anyone. If he wanted to keep himself calm and level-headed for Jacqueline, he would have to make sure his emotions didn't play as heavy as a role.

If the others noticed his somberness then they didn't mention it. They all worked together, preparing for the feast. Maka worked alongside them, but spared Soul no extra act of kindness. When she'd greeted him, he'd offered her a curt nod and a question as to what needed to be done. It wasn't kind, and was more cold than anything. She'd almost flinched back at the attitude and Soul had been careful not to let on how much just seeing her strengthened the ache in his chest.

A sickness in the soul. Like a disease.

"Soul, could you help me with this?" Soul moved over to where Kim was trying to pull two chairs apart. "They've been stuck for years since we have never needed them."

"Are they special?"

"Um," Kim took one side while Soul took hold of the legs, "they were carved in preparation for feasts like this to celebrate the release of a maiden. It was Maka's idea. To give us something to do, you know?"

He hummed his understanding and tugged hard on the chairs. They separated with a crack, and though nothing was broken, he made sure to check the legs and ensure its stability. When he stood, Kim was looking at him curiously. For half a moment, he thought she could see how upset he was, until she said, "You've definitely gotten most of your strength back. I think that you will be able to protect Jacqueline properly."

"I should hope so."

"So would I," she said. "You are seventeen with a life ahead of you. It would be a shame to waste it without reward money."

"I-"

She waved him off. "Jacqueline told me how you're intending to move to the seaside once you deliver her home. After today's feast, we may not be as coherent as you once you both leave, so I would like to say thank you." Soul was quiet and she continued. "Jacqueline's been wanting to go home for a long time. She never really gave up. But you kept going. You came for her. She'll be able to go home and see her family and live the princess life she's deserved. I tried to see if the tapestry in the meeting room would give us a clue as to what would happen since it not only records what has been but, sometimes, will hint to what will be. I didn't see anything, but I- we'll miss her a lot, no matter what happens."

"Kim, someone may come for you yet," he said with uncharacteristic optimism. "There are more knights than quests in the world. It is not the end for you. You might see her again."

"Even if we were both rescued, we wouldn't remember each other. It would be useless."

"I…" Soul swallowed. "I'm sorry."

"There is nothing you could have done. There's nothing you could do." She shrugged. "This is the nature of the curse, but that doesn't mean we have to give up hope entirely. If you keep your memory, it'd be great if you directed a hoard of knights to my tower," she winked playfully, but he could tell that there was something underlying the joke. They talked a bit as they set up the courtyard. Kim told him what she recalled of her kingdom: its name, beauty and power. She told him about the festivals they used to hold and how her beauty had enchanted many knights. He listened patiently, trying not to think too much of Maka.

When they parted, he made his way over to one of the shady trees and took a seat. The eternal summer of the courtyard was as beautiful as it was the first day he laid eyes on it. Nothing about it had changed, and yet the golden quality of it didn't fill him with quite the same awe. Instead, it was an old, green longing that filled him now, something that he couldn't shut up. Before him, the party came to life in increments. From relieved maidens to young girls who got up to dance, to eating food around the courtyard as the sun began to wane. Some of the girls picked up handmade instruments, horse haired harps and wooden lutes, and set to playing blitheful tunes and enchanting melodies. It was soothing. It was light and fun somehow too.

For some reason, Soul found that he didn't really want to leave.

Jacqueline took a seat next to him in relative silence. She handed him a platter of food and a glass of mead that he took with a murmur of thanks. Together, they sat and watched as the other girls enjoy the feast. Soul could see Maka and Tsugumi hanging up lanterns around the courtyard and had to tear his eyes away for fear of displaying too much attention towards the way the lights made Maka's hair shine and her skin glow like the soft sun above.

"You should eat," she said softly. "This is the best food we'll be getting until we arrive at my father's kingdom."

"I suppose you're right."

"We have enough dried fruit and water to last us," Jacqueline continued, her eyes fixed somewhere in the crowd of maidens. "It'll be a long journey."

"I will try to make it as short as possible, princess."

"Thank you, Soul," she said. "I appreciate it." They slipped back into silence as they ate together. The air grew a fraction chillier, and the moon had been drawn out into the sky before she spoke again. "I know you are unhappy," she said. Soul didn't say anything, but he didn't have to. Jacqueline seemed to know anyway. "I can't imagine that this is easy for you. Leaving the people you love behind is hard. I'm going to forget this place. I know it. Ever since you got here, I've had this feeling in the back of my mind telling me that I'm missing something. Have you ever gotten that feeling?"

Besides the gaping hole where his heart should be? "No, I have not."

"It's a bit frightening," Jacqueline admitted. "I should be excited to go, to return home, but there are people I don't want to forget. I refuse to do so, but I also know that the likelihood of seeing these maidens again is near impossible. It's almost better that I forget, so that even if I lose these precious memories, at least I won't recall enough to feel the pain of losing them." She lowered her plate onto the grass and leaned back against the tree. "Do you think it's selfish for me to want to lose my memory just so I don't have to hurt? Just knowing that I'll be gone, who I'll be leaving," she fisted the front of her dress in a rare show of frustration, "I don't know what to do anymore."

"Lady Jacqueline…"

"You've done so much for me, Soul. When I forget, and if you should remember, these precious memories will be in your hand. Maybe it'll be better to forget them, and maybe it won't. You could always choose to tell me."

Soul frowned. "But would you want me to?"

"I don't know." She let out a shaky sigh and looked away from the girls that had taken to dancing in the center of the courtyard. He downed his mead and sat quietly next to her as she sniffled, swiping at her eyes with the back of her hand. The girls danced the night away. They laughed and cried and cheered and sang songs well into the night. Soul half-thought that Jacqueline had fallen asleep next to him when she tugged on his sleeve. His eyes fell upon her face, a bit puffy but still smooth.

"Are you feeling any better?"

She just stared at him, dark eyes reflecting the light from the lanterns that Maka had hung up. "I know you're in love with her," she said suddenly, and Soul tried not to blush too obviously. "We all knew you were. She does too, I think." Jacqueline watched him carefully. "I also think it scares her."

"She's scared of a lot more things than I would have thought."

"She is human, too," reminded Jacqueline before sobering. "Her apprehension is warranted although not welcome," she admitted, "but it must be said that she is more in love with you than you think."

"In _love_ with me?" he barked out a laugh that only hurt his throat. "Seems a bit unlikely to me, princess."

"On the contrary, Soul, it is more likely than you think. If she didn't care about you half as much as she did, she would not have bothered attempting to distance herself from you."

"You say attempt as if she is not trying to stay away from me."

"It is an attempt if she is still here, if she is still close to you, if she still watches every move you make with regret and wistfulness marked in her very posture." Without meaning to, Soul looked up and was able to find Maka's dress with ease. It was a white, soft and light against her skin. Many of the girls wore white for the celebration, but Maka looked near heavenly in it. Her head was turned away from him, but she was dancing by the outskirts of the group. He watched, amazed, as she danced a bit, and upon a turn her eyes flicked towards his face. She ducked away almost immediately and Soul did not doubt that she was embarrassed at being caught. "She cares for you, Soul. She cares for you in a way she could never care for us. The affection, the attention and the love that she no doubt feels towards you cannot go unrecognized."

Soul sighed. Denial with these maidens rarely went unchecked. "Perhaps I do care for her, and perhaps she feels… fond of me. But she has been clear that she wishes not to pursue me in that way. She doesn't desire what I desire with her."

"What is with you and denial?" she asked, her frown like a fixture on her face. "Maka is in love with you. If you confront her with that knowledge, she can't deny it."

"She's denied it before," he muttered sourly.

"That's because you didn't approach her directly about it," said Lady Jacqueline. "Just try to speak with her. Alone. Just the two of you. The darkness will bring out her honesty and the mead will bring out her courage, just what you need on a night like tonight."

"And you, princess?"

"What of me?"

"Will you be using the night to your advantage?"

"Certainly. Before I leave, there are a few things I need to… discuss with Kim. Now if you will excuse me." He dipped his head down and watched as the flushing princess stood.

"I wish you luck."

"And the same to you," said Jacqueline. "It's our last night here. We ought to make it count."

She disappeared into the crowd of dancing girls and Soul sighed. The smooth swirl of mead in his cup did nothing to calm him and the sweetest on his tongue that lingered left him unsatiated. His princess had recommended that he speak with Maka. Perhaps he was being childish in avoiding her. She had implied that while she did not want them to progress romantically, it did not mean she did not want to maintain his friendship. It was as she said; he was honour bound to respect her wishes. Even if she was not a princess, he would have conceded and left her in order to lick his wounds and move forward.

Only, Soul didn't think that was an option. He had only ever been able to leave past loves behind he'd knowingly done all he could to keep it alive. But there were many things he hadn't told Maka and he feared that perhaps she did not know as much about his feelings as he would like. He was private person, true, but this _feeling_ that had started whenever he so much as thought of her was something that rippled under his skin and wanted to be free. It wanted to be known, be voiced, be understood. It wanted to be acknowledged as true and genuine.

And Soul couldn't do that if he refused to spend his last night alone.

He stood, slowly because he already felt a bit uneasy with the addition of the alcohol, and almost instantly there were a few maidens at his side. "Soul," they cooed, "Knight Soul, it is your last night here. You should spend it with us."

He smiled at their enthusiasm. "I'm afraid I can't. I need to speak with someone."

"But-"

"I must go. Excuse me."

If Jacqueline was right… Soul swallowed thickly. If Lady Jacqueline was correct, and Maka really did care for him, would it be wrong to tell her how he cared for her? If he let the depth of his affection be known, would she push him aside again? If that was what she wanted then he would pull himself away forever, he knew. He would never mention it again to any living soul. But her cowardice and his own haunted his mind and Soul trudged forward. He refused to live with this sickness inside him. Maka had shown him so much courage over the weeks that he had been there. Her first act of fear was nothing compared to the strength she held to keep living. If he had been in her position, he would not be able to have her composure. He might of taken his own life as well.

But she survived. She persevered. And so would he.

He was back in the infirmary when she found him. His sword was attached to his belt for courage although he felt like that was mostly inside of him. It reminded him, moreover, of his mission. He was sent to deliver Jacqueline home. He had no mission other than to his own heart on the very last day of his stay. She held a candle, just as she had weeks ago, and the light made the white of her gown glow. She had her hood on, but her ashy bangs peeked out from beneath the hood and her eyes.

 _I'm in love with her_ , he thought in awe and the knowledge plunked down his throat and landed comfortably in his chest to keep him warm. Maka hesitated in the doorway, the shadows crawling up her cheeks until she made a move and entered the infirmary.

"Soul?" she asked. "Is something wrong?"

"Is something wrong?" he repeated softly, before turning towards her. "Why would something be wrong?"

"I don't, um…" Maka stepped into the room carefully and placed her candle next to his. They glowed together in a corner of the infirmary. There was stiffness written into her shoulders and running down her arms. Her fingers worried at her veil. "I'm sorry."

"You regret something?"

Maka looked like she was in pain. "Soul-"

"You were quite certain a few nights ago," Soul counted quietly. She had been right to be certain. It would be better in the long run to distance himself from her; to try and kill the possibility of developing feelings for her.

The only hiccup was that it was far too late for that.

"Soul, I-"

"Why did you look for me?" he asked instead, giving her a reprieve.

She blinked quickly. "What?"

"You're here. You left the party to find me. Why would you do that?"

"I was looking for Jacqueline."

"Lady Jacqueline? Did you find her?"

Soul watched Maka stare at her hands. "I did."

"And?"

"She was… preoccupied." The flush on Maka face was telling.

Soul resisted a grin. He was happy for his princess. Her affection was returned. She would fill her last night with the joy of requited love. The same could not be said for him unless he played his cards right; assuming he had any cards at all. "I see."

"You do not seem… surprised."

"I thought the feelings were quite obvious," he confessed, "but I am glad that they both feel the same way for one another. That kind of experience is a gift."

Maka frowned and sat next to him. She seemed to want to say something, but was unable to get the words out. Soul tried to guess at what she was thinking, but Maka was such a puzzle that he found himself guessing at things that he hoped she was thinking. "I do not," she began, "want you to be angry with me."

"You believe me to be angry at you?"

"I would surprised if you were not. I know that I am upset with myself."

Soul paused, took a breath, and tried to steel his courage. "I am not angry."

"Then what are you? This is more than I- I don't know-"

"Princess," Soul took her hands, heart in his mouth as he said, "I love you."

"You love me?" she choked out, eyes wide and green and, for a moment, afraid.

Soul felt the urge to run take root but he had to beat it down. If Lady Jacqueline could gather her strength and speak her feelings to Lady Kim, than he could do the same for Maka. After all, they only had one night left. If Jacqueline was wrong and Maka had no feelings for him after all then so be it. "I love you. I have felt a very deep affection for you for a long time. I understand that you have no sympathy for knights and that you care deeply about your fellow maidens, but I care for you as well; sometimes in ways I never thought possible."

"Soul…"

"What you said before… I respect it. You did not wish for me to love you as I do now, so you tried to protect me. And for that I am grateful." He squeezed her hands. "However, I cannot fulfill your wish as it is too late for me. The affection is already buried in my heart and I have no intention of fishing it out."

"It would have been better," she began quietly, "if you had never loved me at all."

"Why?"

"This must hurt you so; to have me push you away even when I've encouraged such affection." Thinking of him and blaming herself for their predicament; Maka truly was too self-less.

"My feelings are my own and I am responsible for them. Even if we had not spent as much time together, I feel like I would have been drawn to you regardless." Soul tried to breathe calmly but his heart was racing. "Does knowing this… bother you?"

She laughed quietly. "How could it bother me? You loving me… it's something I tried to keep in my dreams and not in reality. But regardless, here it is." When Maka looked up at him, her eyes were full of tears. "I'm so sorry that you love me."

"Do not be sorry, Princess." Soul scrambled for a way to console her but nothing was coming to mind. It was feeling more and more like rejection the longer it went on. "It is my honour."

"Oh, don't say that."

"Why not?"

"You say that and my heart…" She pulled a hand away. "My heart cannot take it."

"Then I apologize that I have caused you distress." Soul got up to leave but Maka's tugged him back so hard that he fell to his knees on the floor in front of her. He looked up and her hands left his tunic to hold his face instead. He stayed frozen under her, watching as her tears slipped down her face.

"Too good," she said softly. "I never expected you to be so good." Soul was at a loss for words, too mesmerized by the tears of this beautiful woman who cradled his face like he was the most important thing in her world. "Oh, Soul."

"My lady," he began softly but she shook her head. A few tears dribbled down her chin to wet her dress and his thighs as she leaned forward. Her mouth, shaking and smooth, connected with his and he let her kiss him. It would have been sweeter if she hadn't seemed to sad about it. He was unsure what this meant, afraid that it was pity, and feeling his heart break with just that thought.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled against his lips. "I am so sorry."

"I-" he tried to pull away but she followed tightly.

"I'm sorry, Soul," she said again. When she finally moved back her eyes were still glistening with tears but there was something else there too; a kind of happiness. "I love you."

"You love me?"

Maka kissed him again, and Soul found himself thinking, quickly, that if this was a dream, he absolutely did not want to wake up ever. He couldn't be sure if this was genuine or not, but godess, did he want it to be. Soul kissed the princess back softly, afraid that any more intensity would shatter this illusion that could not possibly be his reality. In what world could a princess, practically an angel on Earth, decide he was worthy of her love?

"What?" Soul breathed as he pulled back, his hopes and fears mingling in his throat. His hands itched for her but he kept himself in check, fingers bracing him against cot instead.

"I love you."

"I don't… are you sure?"

She laughed softly, and leaned her forehead against his. "I could not be more sure."

"What you said before, about-"

"We should not talk about it," said Maka. She thumbed his cheek and he felt immense happiness flood through him. "I hoped to spare you some pain. A part of me hoped that whatever feelings you might have could be stopped before they could do you lasting harm. I knew for myself that I cared for you far too much already, but to know that you felt the same way with possibly the same strength?" She smiled. "I could not bear letting you think it was unrequited. I'm far too selfish for that."

"You are not selfish." Soul shut his eyes and tried to still his rapidly beating heart. "You are _everything_."

She hummed. "And to think, you called me a coward."

He blinked, afraid that she was perhaps still slighted from his words, but instead found her features full of affection and mild amusement. His fingers moved up slowly to wipe her tears away and tried to return the smile. "This is hard to believe."

"Well, it is terrible timing," she said, "but you were right. I was afraid. I'm sorry."

"I don't want any regrets," he said. "Do you?"

"No," she said. Her green eyes seemed to blaze in the candlelit room. "I don't."

His chest felt tight and Soul let his hands settle on her hips. "May I-"

Maka smiled quickly before kissing him again and Soul moved up into it, eager to be close. She drew him up, her hand sweeping across his jaw to lock itself in his hair. Soul squeezed at her, tugging her towards him as she did the same. She balanced herself at the edge of the cot, Soul's body slotted between her legs and his arms encircled her waist. His hands sat splayed at the base of her back, the thin fabric the only thing separating him from bare skin. Maka tugged at his hair, her own falling past her shoulders and tickling the skin at his throat. One of her hands moved to cup his neck and he moaned into her kisses, savouring the taste of her lips and the heat of her body.

He breathed her name as she sighed his and when Soul opened his eyes, Maka's cheeks were flushed a heady red that he could detect with the glow of the candles. Soul's mouth turned itself into a smile and he kissed her cheek. "I love you."

"I know."

"It won't be enough," he said. "I never wanted you to weep over it, but it is certainly validating to know you care."

"I'm sure it is," Maka laughed, "but at least I'm glad you know."

"That's true." She set to kissing him before Maka stopped to smooth his hair back.

"We should talk about this more," she said.

"About what?"

"About us. About what you mean to me. About what will happen."

"Can we not just savour this moment?"

His mouth on her throat seemed to distract her sufficiently until she pulled herself away from him sharply. "We will. In earnest, I assure you," the hand in his hair tightened for emphasis before she let him go, "but perhaps we should take our conversation elsewhere. I would hate to be discovered by one of the other girls. It would be quite embarrassing."

"I could live with that, I suppose." He thumbed the base of her back, his affection giving him enough courage to creep lower as they kissed. "My knees were starting to hurt anyway."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Maka stood up suddenly, and Soul fell back on his ass laughing at her concern.

"I'm fine, my lady, I promise." She stepped over him and gave him a diapproving look. "I would gladly be on my knees for you."

"Not if it causes you pain," Maka said, and stretched out her hand for him to take. "Come. Let us go."

"Where to, exactly?"

"I think my tower has enough privacy," she said lightly, and he felt his gut clench at the look in her eyes. "I would not mind having a knight there once more."

"If that is what you wish, my lady, I would love to accompany you."

"I am sure you would," she said. "Come."

He took her hand, but did not stand. Instead, he adjusted his position into a kneel that mimicked that of the knightly allegiance. He was overcome with the urge to speak, the idea mapped out in his head, and he composed himself.

"What are you-"

"Princess Maka. I, Soul of Elderheim, swear to devote my life to you. I promise to fulfill your commands and seek justice in your name, to do what you would have me do in the name of love and honour." He touched her hand to his lips and grinned up at her. "And now, you have a knight that will be yours till the end of his days."

"So silly," was what she said, but Maka seemed genuinely impressed by the gesture, and when she drew him up, she pressed a searing kiss to his lips, one that set his blood aflame and his heart racing. He barely registered the large rippling portal opening up behind her. "Come with me," she breathed, and Soul, never one to refuse the orders of a beautiful princess, obliged.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed! Feel free to drop a comment in the box below and I'll see you at the finale!**


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